{"id":134995,"date":"2026-02-16T11:12:31","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/134995\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T11:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T11:12:31","slug":"are-new-york-city-fc-ready-for-the-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/134995\/","title":{"rendered":"Are New York City FC ready for the 2026 season?"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this edition of the\u00a0Hudson River Blue\u00a0Roundtable<\/a>,\u00a0John Baney<\/a>,\u00a0Andrew Leigh<\/a>,\u00a0Matthew Mangam<\/a>,\u00a0Mark Radigan<\/a>, and Raf Noboya y Rivera<\/a> look at what we learned in the\u00a02026 preseason<\/a>, and what we can expect to see in New York City FC’s second season under Head Coach Pascal Jansen<\/a> and first season under Sporting Director Todd Dunivant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hudson River Blue: Let\u2019s start with a gut check: How are you feeling about this New York City squad leading into the season opener on Sunday?<\/p>\n

Matthew Mangam: I think the squad is in a great spot. Every position is strong, except for striker. I\u2019m confident that the Kai Trewin signing will be great<\/a>, and although he won\u2019t be Justin Haak 2.0, I\u2019m sure he will make an impact. We also know what to expect out of the returners, which is a good thing. Bring on Pascal Jansen\u2019s second season at the helm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

John Baney: I feel better than I did this time last season, which is pretty promising considering NYCFC made the Conference Finals last year. How NYCFC can manage the loss of Alonso Mart\u00ednez, and the failed signing of Moussa Sylla<\/a> as a replacement, will likely determine whether they can build off last season or not.<\/p>\n

Andrew Leigh: That there\u2019s more depth up and down the roster when compared to what they had to start the 2025 season, but that the squad still remains one or two players away from really challenging for a spot among what you\u2019d consider the elite group of MLS teams, like Inter Miami or LAFC, or similar.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mark Radigan: While I\u2019m more confident going into the regular season this year rather than in 2025, I\u2019m still concerned with the state of the squad\u2019s front line. Mart\u00ednez had 18 MLS goals in 2025, which was 36% of New York City\u2019s season total. I\u2019m still waiting for those attacking reinforcements the Toddfather promised.<\/p>\n

Raf Noboa y Rivera: I feel slightly better. Obviously, just like last season, this roster has pretty solid gaps: Martinez is out for most of the season, if not all of it, the FO whiffed on signing Sylla, and even though Trewin is presumably a good acquisition, I think we should\u2019ve done better at keeping Haak, given he was one of our homegrowns.<\/p>\n

That said: Seymour Reid<\/a>\u2019s the real deal as a teenager, and I\u2019m excited to see how he does against real MLS competition leading the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Is Kai Trewin an upgrade over Justin Haak for New York City FC?<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old Australian defender was one of the best players in the A-League last year, and looks like he could become New York City FC\u2019s most attack-minded center-back since Alex Callens.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

HRB: What are your takeaways from preseason training? What did we learn from Coachella?<\/p>\n

JB: Keaton Parks is back! Pascal Jansen has proved he can make this midfield work with just about anyone in there, Kevin O\u2019Toole included, but the peak Jansen-ball we saw at the end of 2025 never had the luxury of dropping in a healthy Keaton Parks. On his day, he\u2019s a top midfielder in MLS. So, seeing him pulling strings out there in Coachella is a significant development for NYCFC ahead of 2026.<\/p>\n

RNyR: I\u2019ll echo the Parks praise. If the training staff can keep him healthy, that\u2019ll make such a huge difference. The other part is seeing young players play; even if they don\u2019t make the big team, you hope they can contribute to the Squabs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MM: As John said, it\u2019s great that Parks is back and we\u2019re seeing more of O\u2019Toole in the midfield, which looked good against Philadelphia in the playoffs. There isn\u2019t much to take out of Coachella, but it\u2019s cool to see some of the youngsters like Max Murray and Drew Baiera get some minutes \u2014 seeing how those guys perform is always something we can take out of preseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MR: I\u2019m thrilled that Parks is back with the boys, but I was really impressed with Agust\u00edn Ojeda these past few weeks. With Juli\u00e1n Fern\u00e1ndez officially out the door, Jansen clearly trusts Ojeda to be a difference maker for the Pigeons, and I\u2019m looking forward to seeing the energy the Argentine brings this season. With Alonso out, the opportunity for Ojeda to grab a place in the Starting XI is right in front of him; he just needs the consistency to take it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AL: Coachella showed me how badly Mart\u00ednez will be missed. Rolling with Nico Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau, Talles Magno (when healthy), or Reid in that spot just does not seem like it will be enough to adequately replace what they\u2019ll be missing with Alonso sidelined.<\/p>\n

Once the Sylla deal collapsed, if they intended to use those Coachella games to figure out if they had enough on hand to fill in for Mart\u00ednez\u2019s missing goals, the answer should have been loud and clear to Dunivant: They do not and still need another proven option at striker, badly.<\/p>\n

\"\"Seymour Reid converted a penalty against Sporting Kansas City | newyorkcityfc.com<\/p>\n

HRB: Obvious question, but: What\u2019s the biggest hole in this roster?<\/p>\n

JB: The obvious answer is a No 9, but I\u2019ll zag here for the sake of argument. While NYCFC are missing a natural center forward in a positional sense, what they really lack is a consistent goalscorer. If this team had reliable goal threats on the wings or in midfield, they could probably cope without a true No 9. But, I\u2019m not sure I trust Nico Fern\u00e1ndez, Hannes Wolf, Talles Magno<\/a>, Agustin Ojeda, or Maxi Moralez to put up Alonso-esque numbers, regardless of where any of them play on the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MR: I\u2019m beating a dead horse, but New York City will not look as strong as in 2025 without signing a true back-up striker, or a No 9 who can pair up with Alonso when he returns.<\/p>\n

Reid is too inexperienced and too raw to be the guy right now, and Nico Fern\u00e1ndez\u2019s skillset would be much better suited in attacking midfield. Plus, Raf is right. Maxi is going to be 39 this year. I got egg on my face last season for this, but Maxi Moralez should NOT start more than 30 games this season. If a striker isn\u2019t brought in, slot Nico up there and sign a young and starting quality No 10.<\/p>\n

RNyR: Man, it\u2019s really the scoring. I said up top that I\u2019m excited to see Reid up top, but after all, he\u2019s just 17! That\u2019s a lot of responsibility to put on his shoulders. MLS is taking a break from May 25 to July 16 for the World Cup, so I\u2019m hoping that Dunivant takes that time to land a solid goalscorer. The other piece would be a midfield orchestrator. Maxi\u2019s awesome, but he\u2019s also 38. With a healthy Parks and a full season of Nico Fern\u00e1ndez, that\u2019s less of a need, but still, it\u2019s something I\u2019m keeping an eye on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

MM: I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any other answer besides striker. As of right now, Talles Magno is expected to be out one to two weeks<\/a>, leaving NYCFC without a \u201cstriker\u201d to start the season. The failure to sign Sylla looks like a horrible outcome right now, but if a striker is brought in, things could change. Still, not having Mart\u00ednez to surely bag at least 15 goals for most of the season will hurt, no matter what happens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

AL: I think we\u2019re unanimous. A reliable goal-scorer who can line up as a center-forward or as a wide attacker might not be the easiest player to find before March 26, when the MLS Primary Transfer Window closes, but it\u2019s what this year\u2019s team desperately needs, especially since Kai Trewin seems up to the task of replacing Justin Haak.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Pascal Jansen: Talles Magno sidelined with preseason injury<\/p>\n

The NYCFC coach says Talles Magno won\u2019t rejoin team training sessions for one or two more weeks, though injury updates were more positive for midfielders Aiden O\u2019Neill and Jonny Shore.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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