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The Revolution went through one of the most dramatic roster rebuilds in club history. Will it work?
A majority of the players from the disappointing 2024 season are gone. Here's an overview of the changes, with a rundown on some of New England's new faces.
Only a few months removed from the conclusion of one of the worst seasons in team history, the Revolution have torn down the roster and made sweeping changes.
Of the 31 players who started at least one game for New England in 2024, only 12 remain at the outset of 2025. Head coach Caleb Porter and sporting director Curt Onalfo (both in the second years of their respective roles with the club) have officially stamped their identify onto the roster.
A year after inheriting what was still largely Bruce Arena’s team, Porter heads back into the open waters of a new season captaining a reconstructed vessel of his own making. Whether it sinks or sails full steam ahead remains to be seen.
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“The club was very successful in 2021 and inconsistent after that,” Porter said in his preseason press conference. “We felt in our reflection of the overall body of work over those three years 2022, end of 2023, and then obviously last year, that to some extent, it was a little bit the end of a cycle. Every club goes through that. We felt it was important to refresh the roster and to bring in some new blood to enter a new era.”
The “new era” that the two-time MLS Cup-winning coach wants to see is one that fits his “game model” more closely than the leftovers of Arena’s Revolution roster. He wants to press his opponent when out of possession, and play proactive, attacking soccer when in possession of the ball.
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Attempts to play this way a year ago produced some moments of promise that were swamped by larger periods of inconsistency and a lack of quality. Shambolic defending — the Revolution surrendered 74 goals in 2024, second most in the league — was combined with a toothless attack (New England scored the fewest goals in MLS). It resulted in the ignominious distinction of Porter’s team tying a club record for losses sustained in a season (21).
Tasked with fixing all of the above, Onalfo and Porter were predictably busy over the last two months. Here’s a rundown.
Who’s out?
The first clue that the offseason would be a sea-change for New England arrived via the year-end roster moves in November. Among those to be sent packing were internationals like center back Xavier Arreaga and winger Dylan Borrero.
Veterans like Tommy McNamara and Bobby Wood also found themselves without new deals, as did club captain Carles Gil’s brother, Nacho:
- Dylan Borrero (option declined)
- Xavier Arreaga (option declined)
- Joshua Bolma (option declined)
- Tommy McNamara (option declined)
- Nacho Gil (option declined)
- Jonathan Mensah (option declined)
- Nick Lima (out of contract)
- Tim Parker (out of contract)
- Damian Rivera (out of contract)
- Ryan Spaulding (out of contract)
- Bobby Wood (out of contract)
Added to the contract expirations, Onalfo and Porter also sought other means of offloading players. The most direct route proved to be executing trades with the team’s old coach.
Arena, now the head coach of San Jose (one of the few squads to have a worse record than New England last year), engineered multiple trades with his former team.
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First, the Revolution sent three players (Mark-Anthony Kaye, Dave Romney, and Ian Harkes) to the Earthquakes in exchange for a 2025 international roster slot and $250,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) in 2025 and 2026.
Backup goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. was also traded to San Jose later in December for $150,000 in GAM (a third trade, involving only GAM and draft picks, was also completed between the two clubs amid the MLS SuperDraft).
Highly touted 19-year-old winger Esmir Bajraktarevic, one of the brightest talents to emerge from New England’s academy, departed for Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven, while fan favorite Emmanuel Boateng (another of the team’s now-former wingers) was dealt to expansion club San Diego FC for yet more GAM.
The most predictable and yet notable departure was that of former Designated Player and 2024 leading scorer Giacomo Vrioni, who was traded to Montreal for $50,000 GAM.
The Italian-Albanian center forward cut an erratic figure during his two-and-a-half seasons in New England. His tally of nine goals in 2024 was technically his best season with the Revolution, but his performances in front of goal often left a lot to be desired. Now, he gets a chance to reset with another Eastern Conference team.
- Esmir Bajraktarevic (transfer to PSV)
- Mark-Anthony Kaye (traded to San Jose)
- Earl Edwards Jr. (traded to San Jose)
- Dave Romney (traded to San Jose)
- Ian Harkes (traded to San Jose)
- Giacomo Vrioni (traded to Montreal)
- Emmanuel Boateng (traded to San Diego)
Who’s in?
Shorn of so many regular contributors from the previous season, New England searched high and low to fill up the vacant roster spots.
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One of the biggest additions (both literally and metaphorically) was the acquisition of striker Leonardo Campana from Inter Miami. The 6-foot-2 Ecuadorian offers a high-potential goal-scoring threat to replace Vrioni. He was acquired via Miami in exchange for an MLS-record $2.5 million in guaranteed GAM (a total that could eventually $3.25 million depending on performance-based incentives).
Along with consistency in front of goal — something Vrioni lacked — Campana noted that he hopes to offer more contributions in the team’s build-up play (another category in which Vrioni was often lacking).
“That’s something that I’ve wanted to find for a long time, a coach that has the confidence in me not only to stay in the box, but to come a little bit behind, to ask for the ball, to play, and to have that freedom to play,” Campana said earlier in January. “I think I am capable of doing it. I’m really grateful for Caleb, he knows about my work ethic and about my mentality. So, I think we are having a really good connection.”
Costa Rican winger Luis Diaz (no, not the Liverpool superstar) was added from Deportivo Saprissa, reuniting him with Porter, the coach he helped win MLS Cup with as a member of the Columbus Crew in 2020.
Two other forwards, 25-year-old Ignatius Ganago and 33-year-old Argentine Maximiliano Urruti, have also been brought in to shore up the attack. Ganago joins on a loan from French club FC Nantes with an option to buy should New England wish it in six months (the deal also includes an option to extend the loan an additional six months). Urruti, who has a lengthy history of scoring against the Revolution, now offers a potentially quality threat off the bench.
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Jackson Yueill, a central midfielder, was signed as a free agent, with Porter citing him as a potentially important pivot in the team’s passing sequences.
In defense, the departures of players like Romney and Arreaga are expected to be filled primarily by Mamadou Fofana and Brayan Ceballos. Porter envisions them as more in-line with his desired profile for center backs.
“We felt like we just needed a little bit more athleticism out of our central defenders and a little bit more natural passers,” he said during the preseason press conference, “because our defending ends with the center backs. They need to make plays in the box and at times, play with a high line.”
Exactly how quickly the Revolution can mold the team’s new back line into something approaching what Porter wants will be a crucial subplot of the upcoming season. Asking a group of new players at a critical position to quickly acclimate and be successful could become a talking point early if the club gets off to another rocky start in the league (as happened in 2024).
Here’s the full list of new additions:
- Jackson Yueill CM (free agent)
- Mamadou Fofana, CB (transfer from Amiens SC)
- Leonardo Campana ST (trade with Inter Miami)
- Alex Bono GK (free agent)
- Donovan Parisian GK (MLS SuperDraft, 18th overall)
- Luis Diaz (transfer from Deportivo Saprissa)
- Joe Buck (signed with Revs II)
- Noel Buck (returned from loan at Southhampton)
- Keegan Hughes (signed with Revs II)
- Ignatius Ganago ST (loaned from FC Nantes, includes option to buy)
- Brayan Ceballos CB (transfer from Fortaleza EC)
- Tanner Beason CB (free agent)
- Maximiliano Urruti ST (free agent)
- Wyatt Omsberg CB (free agent)
- Allan Oyirwoth CM (free agent)
What will it look like?
Based on what he’s said in early 2025, and also his head coaching history, Porter will likely utilize some version of a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Of the few returning players, Gil will once again be a focal point. His playmaking has been the straw that’s stirred the drink for New England’s attack since his arrival in MLS in 2019. This reached its peak in 2021, when the Spaniard won the Landon Donovan MVP Award.
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Now 32, it’s reasonable to wonder if Gil can continue to be so prolific. And working within Porter’s overall game-plan, it appeared that Gil’s natural style differed from the more up-tempo passing approach desired by his head coach. Yet New England’s No. 10 has proven he’s more than capable of existing harmoniously within a quicker attack, and will likely find a greater number of open passing options in 2025 (particularly if Campana flourishes).
On the wings, Argentine Luca Langoni (a midseason arrival in 2024) showcased his dynamism in a limited sample size last season. He scored three goals and recorded two assists in 11 appearances. On the opposite wing, either Ganago or Diaz will likely get a chance in the lineup prior to the expected midseason return of Argentine Designated Player Tomas Chancalay (who has been out since his ACL tear last summer).
Any variation of the current winger setup will likely provide exactly what Gil wants: speed out wide, allowing him to stretch the field with trademark well-placed passes.
Behind Gil in midfield, Alhassan Yusuf (another 2024 midseason addition) faces increased expectations. His energy and industry as a box-to-box center midfielder offers another passing option for Gil, as well as a player who can help implement Porter’s desire for a defensive press.
Exactly who plays alongside Yusuf will be an intriguing question. No one played more minutes for the club in 2024 than veteran New England midfielder Matt Polster, yet the responsibility of occupying a defined holding midfield role has never been the Milwaukee native’s forte.
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If Porter wants a more balanced setup, he could opt for Yueill instead. Arlington’s Noel Buck, returned from his Southhampton loan, will once again be battling for minutes in a crowded depth chart, though his talent and upside remain undeniable.
Defensively, New England could feature 17-year-old Connecticut native Peyton Miller at left back, Fofana and Ceballos in the center, and Brandon Bye on the right. Slovenian goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic won the starting role a year ago, and looks set to once again be Porter’s top choice. Overall, it’s a unit that has plenty of potential, but just as many questions that need answering regarding cohesiveness and consistency.
The Revolution have five more preseason games schedule prior to the MLS season opener in Nashville on Feb. 22. Porter, who survived a rocky first season, enters 2025 with his seat — while not quite hot — beginning to warm. Yet after one of the most dramatic roster rebuilds in team history, the Revolution could be poised for a return to winning ways.
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