Five Teams That Won the MLS Winter Transfer Window Ahead of 2025 Season | OneFootball

It’s taken a while, but MLS finally made an authentic global impact on the worldwide transfer market in the 2024-25 window. While European clubs looked to MLS for reinforcements, the MLS sides prepped for their new season.

While the New England Revolution moved 14 players in, and several other clubs made notable transfers, big and small, Sports Illustrated picked out the five clubs with the best offseasons.

Teams must be salary cap and roster regulation compliant by Feb. 21, the day before the 30th MLS season kicks off with a 13-match Saturday slate.

1. Atlanta United

Miguel Almiron comes back to the club where he became a superstar. / Courtesy of Atlanta United

Atlanta United started the offseason strong by bringing Chris Henderson as sporting director. Coming over from Inter Miami CF, where Lionel Messi’s influence at all levels has continued to grow, he’s now getting the massive budget he never had when he helped build the Seattle Sounders dynasty.

He’s made it count quickly, too.

Miguel Almiron returns to the club where he first burst onto the scene before his years with Newcastle United, and they add forward Emmanuel Latte Lath, who comes over from Middlesbrough on an MLS record fee of $22 million, as well as midfielder Mateusz Klich from D.C. United.

With Klich, they did not inherit enough of his salary to take up one of their own DP spots, leaving him on D.C.’s books. That’s just “doing MLS” exceptionally well.

With the most expensive transfer window in MLS history, Atlanta has rebuilt its attack and parts of its midfield and will look to improve, building on the pieces already in Alexey Miranchuk and Saba Lobjanidze.

All work under a new head coach in 2021 MLS Cup Champion, Ronny Deila. It will be an exciting year in Georgia, and one they hope will make Mercedes-Benz Stadium the place to be in MLS.

2. Austin FC

Brandon Vazquez, the new Austin FC forward, is back in MLS after a spell in Liga MX. / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sebastian Driussi and Gyasi Zardes are out. Brandon Vazquez and Mytro Uzuni in. Already, that’s an improvement.

After contending for MVP status in 2022, Driussi’s level dipped in 2024, scoring just six goals and two assists. It got to a point where it didn’t look like that was changing, so they moved on and added Brandon Vazquez and Myrto Uzuni to lead the attack.

Vazquez, a former FC Cincinnati star, returns to MLS after Austin FC spent a reported $10 million to bring him back from a stint with Liga MX’s CF Monterrey. With Cincinnati, he netted 26 goals in 62 appearances from 2022-2023 and could do that again with Los Verdes.

He’ll likely play centrally with club-record signing Uzuni, who comes over from the Spanish second division for a reported $12.3 million. The Albanian international forward has scored 126 goals and 42 assists in his professional career.

Other intriguing new signings include MLS veteran Ilie Sanchez, who arrives from an MLS Cup-winning tenure with LAFC, and Nicolas Dubersarsky, a 20-year-old who joins as a U22 Initiative signing on a five-year guaranteed contract through 2029 with an option for 2030.

After spending a reported $7 million on winger Osman Bukari midseason and only seeing him score a single goal in 620 minutes, new head coach Nico Estévez and club leadership will hope the new signings can get off to a better start.

3. Charlotte FC

Wilfred Zaha comes in as the biggest signing in club history for Charlotte FC. / Charlotte FC/Media Handout

After setting a solid core under head coach Dean Smith in 2024, Charlotte FC made game-changing moves in the offseason. First, they got rid of forward Karol Swiderski, who, despite having moments, never really hit his stride in The Crown before the club transferred him to Panathinaikos for a reported $2 million.

Their most significant move is welcoming longtime Premier League forward Wilfried Zaha on loan from Turkey’s Galatasaray. The Ivory Coast attacker will take up a Designated Player roster spot and offers true star power to Charlotte’s attack, which scored 46 goals last season––10th in the Eastern Conference.

Zaha scored 68 goals in 305 Premier League appearances with Crystal Palace, Cardiff City and Manchester United before moving to Turkey.

While not as much of a headliner as Zaha, Smith also adds longtime Portland Timber Eryk Williamson to the group, diversifying the midfield along with Pep Biel. While not an addition, Biel was re-acquired on a second loan from Olympiacos and could allow USMNT striker Patrick Agyemang to be an outright No. 9 in 2025.

They were a good team last year, and these moves only improved them.

4. Sporting Kansas City

Dejan Joveljić comes as a history-making transfer for Sporting KC. / Courtesy of Sporting Kansas City

Sporting Kansas City made history during its offseason by buying Dejan Joveljić from the LA Galaxy for $4 million, the first cash-for-player transfer in MLS history.

It’s been a formative offseason for them, making five significant moves that will impact them in 2025. First, they opened up cap space by offloading Alan Pulido to Chivas Guadalajara for a reported $9.5 million after he scored 10+ goals just once in five seasons.

Using that money, they added Joveljić as their starting striker, bringing him in off a season where he scored 15 goals and six assists in a critical role in the Galaxy’s MLS Cup championship.

While he takes up the striker role as a Designated Player, the club also signed 27-year-old  attacking midfielder Manu Garcia to a DP contract and added Russian winger Shapi Suleymanov.

Garcia joins having played in the top divisions of England, France, Netherlands, Spain and Greece, and given where he’s played in past setups, will likely take up the middle of the park in Peter Vermes’ preferred 4-3-3.

Suleymanov, who scored 55 goals and 46 assists while making over 300 appearances in Russia, Turkey, Israel, and Greece, would play on one of the wings, with Joveljic at the top.

In a more minor move, SKC brought in 26-year-old forward Mason Toye, a strong rotational player with eight years and 111 matches of MLS experience.

After finishing 13th out of 14 teams in the Western Conference in 2024, SKC are right back in the playoff hunt in 2025.

5. Seattle Sounders FC

Jesus Ferreira could lift up the players around him with the Seattle Sounders. / Courtest of Seattle Sounders FC

The Seattle Sounders approach MLS differently, often one of the mid-table spending clubs that doesn’t rely on the hefty transfer fees or ballooning salaries.

While they were briefly linked with English international Marcus Rashford this offseason, their most significant moves came from within the league, adding Jesus Ferreira and Paul Arriola from FC Dallas.

Ferreira might be underwhelming for some, given their familiarity with him in the Western Conference. Still, he comes in on a hefty trade of $1.5 million in guaranteed GAM, Léo Chú and an international roster slot and is worth the price.

The 24-year-old USMNT attacking midfielder/striker has 53 MLS goals in 163 appearances and will continue to play with fellow FC Dallas transfer Paul Arriola, who has been critical to FCD’s midfield as a central and wingback transition in years past.

While those two shine above other additions, they’ll reinvigorate the Sounder's attack and hopefully help Obed Vargas, 19, and DP attacking midfielder Pedro de la Vega, 24, hit their potential in MLS.

Head coach Brian Schemtzer also welcomes back center back Kim Kee-Hee, who, at 35, will likely be a depth player but was critical in Seattle’s 2019 MLS Cup win.

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