Between these two players, the Red Bulls have an attacking foundation to build on that many teams around the league would envy. The team is not starting from scratch.

(As an aside, I want to shout out the contributions to this team of friend of ASA Sean Davis, who has somehow managed to transform himself into four different players in four consecutive seasons. His skillful versatility will allow the Red Bulls more slack in what type of player they can acquire, and he deserves more recognition as one of the upper echelon CMs in MLS.)

Areas of Need

In an interview with mlssoccer.com’s Andrew Vazzano, New York Red Bulls’ Sporting Director Denis Hamlett gave this quote: “We have a lot of roster spots available...We’ve made some big decisions, so now we have to go out and fill those shoes, per se. That’s something we’re going to do, because we know we need to do that.” I don’t know exactly what positions he was referring to, per se, but Hamlett knows as well as I do that this team needs a new striker to lead the line.

In 2018, the Red Bulls amassed 59 xGF, second in the league only to a record-breaking Atlanta side. In 2019? 47.6, a 19% drop and good for 12th best in the league. Much of the credit must go to Bradley Wright-Phillips’ decline from 15.3 xG to only 4.9. The Red Bulls did a good job finding replacements from within, but combined, BWP, Brian White and Tom Barlow put up 13.7 xG, less than Wright-Phillips’ individual number from a season ago. With a little over 2.8 million off the books in contracts this offseason and only one DP left on the roster, it is imperative that the Red Bulls find a replacement for the legend, #99.

Another hole the Red Bulls need to fill is at Right Winger. Josh Sims struggled to adapt to the league in his half season here, but he was definitely...there. If the Red Bulls fail to renew his loan from Southampton, they won’t have any starting players at that position. The return from injury of Florian Valot should alleviate the pressure a little bit, but the team has the cap and roster space to aim for something higher.

Additionally, all-terrain right fullback Michael Murillo has been transferred to Belgian giants RSC Anderlecht, which could create another headache for Hamlett this offseason if either of those moves transpires. Last season, Rece Buckmaster stepped in at key moments, looking more or less like a professional soccer player, but to have him replace Murillo on a full time basis would represent a huge downgrade. Finding a replacement that gives the team as much attacking penetration will be a prority. Long has also been linked to various clubs in England; losing him would create yet another hole for this already frayed squad.

The team could also look for another central midfielder to pair with Davis, with the combination of Marc Rzatkowski and the young Cristian Casseres, Jr. underwhelming last season. Right now, however, all eyes are on the front of the line. Will the Red Bulls finally spend like some of their rivals, or will they continue to look internally for solutions to their roster holes?