CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy made one of the biggest moves of the offseason earlier this month, signing ex-England national team captain Steven Gerrard to a Designated Player contract from Liverpool.
Now it appears that LA are at it again, with speculation running rampant in recent weeks that the club is interested in bringing in US national team midfielder Sacha Kljestan from Belgian power Anderlecht.
The defending MLS Cup champions were first reported to be interested in the 29-year-old Southern California native on January 12. Last week they made a move that would seem to free up space for the former Chivas USA star, trading influential Brazilian midfielder Marcelo Sarvas and an international roster spot to the Colorado Rapids for allocation money and the No. 3 spot in the MLS allocation order.
With Sarvas in Colorado and MLS legend Landon Donovan recently retired, the Galaxy are likely in the market for another midfielder.
For all that writing on the wall, LA head coach Bruce Arena offered little insight on the Galaxy's aims on Tuesday, not addressing the Kljestan rumors and saying only that he was “looking to make our team better.”
“Every time we make a move, in principal it's to make our team better,” Arena told MLSsoccer.com. “Whether that means it enables us to acquire another player or a number of players remains to be seen, but we will try to make our team stronger. That's the goal.”
Arena attempted to bring Kljestan to LA last summer, making a series of moves – including trading defender Kofi Opare to D.C. United – to open up room for him on the Galaxy’s roster before the summer transfer window closed.
Arena was asked if the Galaxy had specific plans for the ranking and allocation money.
“Not specific,” he responded. “But we have thoughts on what we need to do.”
Sarvas, 33, spent three seasons with the Galaxy, playing an enormous role in their run to the MLS Cup title last season and in 2012.
“[Sarvas was] a terrific player for us, no question about it,” Arena said. “He's given everything he's had, he's helped make us a better team, and he'll be a player that we'll miss.”
In addition to signing Gerrard – who will join the team in July – the Galaxy have made several other moves this offseason, re-signing forward Alan Gordon and defender Dan Gargan. LA also picked up three players in the MLS SuperDraft, selecting Iona attacker Ignacio Maganto in last week’s opening round and adding Louisville defender Daniel Keller and Penn State goalkeeper Andrew Wolverton in the third and fourth rounds on Tuesday.
Maganto and Keller will be with the team when it hits the field on Friday for the opening of preseason camp, but Wolverton is rehabbing from a foot injury and won't be available until sometime next month.
Maganto, who scored 11 goals for Iona last fall, was a breakout star at the MLS Combine. The Madrid-native wasn’t initially on the Galaxy’s radar, but caught the eye of the coaching staff at the Combine in Ft. Lauderdale.
“My coaching staff recommended him,” said Arena, who didn’t attend the Combine while recovering from knee surgery. “They thought he had a good Combine. Obviously has good quality ... looks to be someone that can fit in with our style of play and our players.”
He called Keller a smart, versatile player with a “good attitude” and said Wolverton's 6-foot-6 frame was “a big factor” in selecting him.
“Like all kids, until we see him in our environment,” Arena said of Wolverton, “it's hard to give a great assessment. We'll know more once we get him in Los Angeles.”
