Much like a phoenix rising from the ashes D.C. United has taken the first part of 2016 by storm. With a flurry of trades, signings, near signings, and a brand new schedule the club enters the 2016 season with a bit of a retooled lineup. That lineup will be tinkered with even more on Thursday when the club plays host (well, it is within an hours drive) to the Major League Soccer SuperDraft in Baltimore. You can watch on MLSSoccer.com or you can follow Prost’s Twitter page for live updates.
While everyone is certainly excited about the SuperDraft (a chance to talk about MLS, D.C. United, and wear a scarf that clashes with your winter gear? Cool!) for United this is a chance to add a quality piece. Although the value of the SuperDraft is a bit overstated, for clubs like D.C. that have a limited youth academy program and a lack of resources it is a chance to pick up a quality piece.
Looking back at D.C. United’s recent history the club has done pretty well with their selections. Each of their last five first round picks were starters at some point last season (Miguel Aguilar, Steve Birnbaum, Nick De Leon, Taylor Kemp, and Perry Kitchen) in 2015. If you include Chris Korb (second round pick in 2011) and Chris Pontius (first round pick in 2009) it shows that the club generally likes to retain their first round picks for extended periods.
However the club did make some changes this offseason. Pontius was traded away to the Philadelphia Union and Perry Kitchen and the club are reportedly going separate ways. They also picked up midfielders Lamar Neagle and Patrick Nyarko and re-signed goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra. So with that in mind just what will D.C. United be looking for with the number thirteen pick in the first round and their four fourth round picks?
Center Midfielder
With Kitchen gone, Markus Halsti (could return to Europe) and Davy Arnaud (concussion)’s futures uncertain D.C. United will likely use their first pick to strengthen their midfield. Although it would hurt to lose Arnaud and Halsti, the Kitchen loss changes this team. The former number two pick made over 155 starts for the Red and the Black over the past five years and averaged at least 31.6 starts a season.
To replace him United has a couple of options. The club has reportedly been looking to France for help in the midfield and has been thinking about using De Leon more as a center midfielder. While one is pure speculation, moving De Leon to center midfield might be a good option for the time being. With the additions of Neagle and Nyarko the club can move De Leon inside without losing their speed or pace on the outside. If the club can also keep onto Halsti that should be enough. The question is if De Leon can handle the pressure of orchestrating an attack.
If D.C. does opt to go for a midfielder Julian Buescher appears to be the most solid choice given the club’s position. The former German U-16 and U-18 national team player had a standout season with the Orangemen helping. He was part of a side that allowed just .88 goals per game and just 8.2 shots per game. In a difficult ACC Conference he showed an excellent ability to mark top forwards and limit teams on the counter-attack. If United were to be looking for a direct replacement for Kitchen perhaps that they should go to the college ranks.
Other Options: James Moberg (Washington); Michael Gamble (Wake Forest)
Attacking Midfielder/Forward
Aside from midfielder the club has relatively few needs going into this draft. If there was another spot that they might look at early on (the fourth round is pretty much a crapshoot) it would be at the forward position. With Pontius, Jairo Arrieta, and Eddie Johnson gone there may be a spot or two open up top. The club scored just 43 goals last season (second lowest among all playoff teams) and given that the club had to come from behind to earn points on eight different occasions last season it may need some retooling at the top.
In an ideal world Creighton forward Fabian Herbers would slide right down to number thirteen for D.C. Herbers, who was nominated for the Hermann trophy this season, scored 15 goals and tallied 17 assists for the Blue Jays. At 6’0″ 170 pounds the Big East Offensive Player of the Year would be a dynamic addition for United. Although the learning curve for forwards and attacking midfielders is often higher than it is at other positions in the league there are enough pieces in D.C.’s lineup where there would not be an expectation to produce early on.
The question is: will he fall that far? This year’s draft is very light on prospects at forward and given that the Philadelphia Union, Real Salt Lake, and New England Revolution may all be in need of attacking options, United may not get the chance to take Herbers. Such is the problem when a team does well in the previous season and has to pick late.
Other Options: Ben Polk (Syracuse)
