RENTON – For the last time in 2024, Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer and General Manager & Chief Soccer Officer Craig Waibel sat in front of the gathered media to give their end-of-season press conference. The pair covered a range of topics, fielding questions on the club’s performance during the 2024 season, plans for this offseason, participation in the Club World Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup, and a range of other topics.
Although the two covered a variety of subjects, three major items stood out among the rest. As the Sounders look to improve on the performance from 2024, with multiple high-profile and important competitions on the schedule for 2025, the offseason and window loom large. How the next couple of months and the coming season play out will likely hinge on three things that Schmetzer and Waibel addressed: Obed Vargas’ eventual transfer, the search for improvements to the roster, and how those will take shape on the field.
Obed Vargas is staying, for now
Starting with maybe the most immediate of the three – although possibly also potentially the item that also could have the largest long-term impact as well – we have Obed Vargas. Vargas had an immense year: he turned 19 years old during a season that saw him win and put a death grip on a starting spot in Seattle’s midfield, earn his first full El Tri call-up and appearance in a friendly with the U.S. men’s national team, playing close to 3,400 minutes and scoring two goals with nine assists across all competitions for the Sounders. He’s made a very compelling case for a move abroad, which has raised the obvious question of when, not if , he’ll move and for how much money. Will he move this window?
“We’re not interested in moving Obed this winter,” assured Waibel.
The Sounders know that at some point, probably in the next year, a team is going to come in with an offer that they can’t ignore for Vargas. When you watch him play, you can see it, the kid is headed for bigger things. But he’s a Seattle Sounder, and with so many competitions in front of the team they’ll need him as they navigate a crowded schedule. Vargas proved that he’s hitting star status during the playoffs, and the Sounders can harness his rise next year by holding onto him during this window.
Waiting until the summer at least before transferring Vargas not only means that we all get to watch him play in front of us for another six months and he can help the team play to their potential, but it also means that when a transfer does happen the fee will likely be a bit higher. Whatever you think his transfer value might be right now, another six months of tape, probably more Mexico caps and a chance to play in an official FIFA competition against Botafogo, Atletico Madrid and PSG are almost certainly going to raise the minimum acceptable fee. A bigger fee also probably means a bigger payday for Vargas, while also providing the club with more money to invest in the team and on the roster in ways that could have long-term impacts beyond just a single new signing.
Need to improve the attack
To make the most of however much time they still have with Vargas the Sounders will need to improve in the one area that really kept them from going more in 2024: the attack. The Sounders need to add goals, and they’re not overly concerned with what position new signings might play as long as they can help score those goals. To find those goals, Waibel and the team are looking all over the world, but they’re not ignoring what they see as potential impact players within the league already. No rumors about players abroad have come about just yet, but reporting has already come out in the time since the press conference that they’re pursuing moves to acquire FC Dallas players Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola.
It was also made clear that the team does have a transfer budget that Waibel can use to sign someone from outside of MLS. Depending on where contract negotiations go with current players, where and how that budget can be spent may vary, but at the very least it does seem like a U-22 player could be brought in.
Positional and tactical flexibility
As for where those players play, Schmetzer and Waibel both spoke to the fact that positional flexibility will be prized in anyone they look at. The idea being to both provide tactical and formation flexibility to Schmetzer and his staff, allowing them to more easily throw opponents different looks, and also to foster competition throughout the lineup that allows for rotation as the team deals with a packed calendar. That ability to play in multiple positions and provide the Sounders with a variety of different looks can be seen in both Ferreira and Arriola as transfer targets.
Both players are particularly well-suited to a formation like the 3-5-2 that Seattle used in the Western Conference semifinals against LAFC. Waibel specifically mentioned that formation and that game as he emphasized the desire to bring in flexible players. Seattle have also since announced two new signings that could contribute to providing the depth to compete on multiple fronts and provide a bit of flexibility. Travian Sousa, who has been with Tacoma Defiance since 2022, is a left-sided player who has primarily played as a left back/left wingback or left winger, but could also play as a left-sided center back in a 3-5-2 if necessary. He would likely be a more attacking alternative to Nouhou on the left. The other player signed is Leo Burney, Seattle’s 24th Homegrown Player. Burney is a CB who joins the Sounders having climbed the full Sounders Academy ladder before joining the University of Pennsylvania. While there he was a four-time first-team All-Ivy League selection and two-time Ivy League Defender of the Year. He also played three seasons with Ballard FC.
There will be plenty more news in the coming weeks and months, but thus begins the offseason!
