Could a new rule finally give MLS much-needed transfer gossip?

Complex rules have stopped splashy moves between the league’s clubs. But the ‘cash-for-player’ mechanism could change all that

In any other Major League Soccer offseason, Jack McGlynn probably would have gone to Europe. Ready to take the next step in his career as one of the best young American midfielders in the league, he wouldn’t have had any other realistic option. This offseason, though, the landscape shifted; McGlynn ended up in Houston instead.

The Dynamo utilised a new mechanism introduced by the league last month to sign McGlynn for an initial $2.1m in what is now called a ‘cash-for-player’ trade. This same mechanism was used for FC Cincinnati’s $5m deal sending former MVP Luciano Acosta to FC Dallas, and also Sporting KC’s capture of striker Dejan Joveljić from the LA Galaxy for $4m. “Without the new mechanism it’s very, very, very unlikely that Dejan would have been with us,” said SKC sporting director Mike Burns.

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