It's Year Three of the three-year plan in Minnesota ... and with Allianz Field set to open in April, the time is now for the Loons.

The goal this offseason was simple: concede less goals. In their endeavor to fulfill that, Minnesota went out and signed central midfielder Jan Gregus as a DP, added defensive midfielder Ozzie Alonso, traded for Ike Opara, acquired former Arsenal goalkeeper Vito Mannone and added Ligue 1 fullback Romain Metanire.

Star players

Key acquisitions and departures

Projected Starting XI

Team strengths and weaknesses

Strength: The three most important positions in MLS are center back, defensive mid, and attacking mid; the Loons might have top-five players in all three.

The three most important positions in MLS are center back, defensive mid, and attacking mid; the Loons might have top-five players in all three. Weakness: It's not clear how their collection of talented players fits into a cohesive system, and systems tend to beat collections of talent in 2019.

Predictions