IMAGE, MATT KREMKAU FOR EMPIRE OF SOCCER

by DAVE MARTINEZ

Kwadwo Poku was not at New York City FC training on Tuesday. But Mix Diskerud was. In fact, he spent a portion of practice training with the first team.

That may come as a surprise to some. A subject of the rumor mill this weekend, Diskerud is said to be moving on from the club. According to league sources, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case. And Patrick Vieira went a rare route to publicly squash the chatter as well.

“Mix is still part of the roster,” he said following Tuesday’s training. “He is still a part of the team, still a part of the squad, and until further notice, he will be here, he will be training and it will be depending on how well he does to take part in this team.

“I think players performance will dictate where you will be.”

Diskerud has struggled to find his place with NYCFC over the past two seasons. While he started the 2016 campaign strongly, he has been sparsely used since. Of his nine starts and 12 appearances this year, he has only earned four starts since May. That comes in strong contrast to the beginning of the year, where he started five of the team’s first six encounters. He has one goal and two assists through 812 minutes. However, with Andoni Iraola’s move to midfield, and the resurgence of Frank Lampard, Tommy McNamara and Jack Harrison, Diskerud has become an expensive odd-man-out. Diskerud is earning a guaranteed $761,250 this year alone.