The Seattle Sounders are close to filling the last glaring hole on their roster. Free-agent forward Danny Musovski has agreed to terms on a contract that would give the Sounders some solid depth at center forward, Sounder at Heart has confirmed. The Athletic's Tom Bogert was the first to report the news.
Sources: Seattle Sounders finalizing deal to sign free agent forward Danny Musovski.
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 26, 2024
Musovski, 28, has excellent goal contributions per 90 rate during his time in MLS with LAFC and Real Salt Lake. Had 9g/5a in 1,641 mins with RSL last year. https://t.co/FBby3k8UMs
Musovski has never been a fulltime starter during his four MLS seasons, but has consistently produced. The 28-year-old is coming off a particularly productive season in which he had nine goals and five assists in about 1,650 minutes across all competitions. He has averaged about .46 goals per 90 during his MLS career, the first three seasons of which were spent at LAFC. He also had 18 goals and two assists in two USL seasons with Reno 1868. As a professional across all competitions, he has averaged .56 goals per 90.
Jeremiah Oshan
If there's a red flag with Musovski, it's that he has sort of worn out his welcome at his two previous teams. After some productive years at LAFC, he effectively forced a move to RSL in the hopes of more playing time. At RSL, he was just rounding into form when they signed Cristian Arango effectively to replace him. In an apparent effort to kickstart contract talks, Musovski then sat out and barely played down the stretch.
The Sounders may believe they have the type of environment that will encourage Musovski to buy in. Talking to Sounder at Heart about the Pedro de la Vega signing, GM Craig Waibel said this: "We had that conversation and the coaching staff said we have leadership, we have a proven identity, this locker room is not going to be disrupted by anything so we can look at any player. From a front office standpoint, that’s the blank slate."
Waibel later added that they would be looking at a third forward who would wouldn't necessarily come in expecting to start, as they'd be competing with Jordan Morris and Raúl Ruidíaz for minutes.
If Musovski can be convinced that serving mostly as a backup forward is in his best interest, this would seemingly be a huge roster upgrade for the Sounders. He's been consistently productive when he gets on the field and also has experience playing on the wings.
