IMAGE, MATT KREMKAU FOR EMPIRE OF SOCCER

by DAVE MARTINEZ

With the team reeling from a congested schedule and a string of negative results, the New York Red Bulls may finally be ready to open up their purse strings this summer.

According to head coach Jesse Marsch, New York are in the market for a striker. And using their final Designated Player slot to fill that or other positions is “a possibility.”

“We’re looking a little bit at some of the attacking positions and maybe to help [Bradley Wright-Phillips] in certain moments instead of having him bear the load of all the attacking responsibility at that striker position,” Marsch told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re trying to get [Anatole] Abang going but also maybe looking to bolster that.”

With Gonzalo Veron failing to find consistent minutes and Abang unable to make his time count, Wright-Phillips has bore the brunt of the attack. His nine goals lead the team. However, he is one of two strikers to score this year. Only Veron has found the scoresheet — and he has only done it once in 2016.

To find their attacker, the Red Bulls are looking domestically for solutions.

“We’re looking in the league, there’s been discussions,” he said. “We’re always trying to figure out ways to add to our group. That being said, we like our group, we like our team, and we feel there is the ability to potentially add to it, but right now my job is to focus on getting the most out of this group and what we have.”

As for splurging on a Designated Player, Marsch left the door open to the possibility — so long as it is the right choice.

“We have some different resources available so we’re trying to act responsibly in this transfer window and have an open mind to a potential big addition,” he said. “But also do it in a way that we aren’t putting our future at risk.

“That being said, we know this is a great year for this group to really go after it. So if can we find the right piece to come in and really add to this, to give us that extra boost, to get us through the end of this year and make us one of the best teams at the end of the year, that’s what we’re really looking for.”