To date, FC Cincinnati's offseason has netted four re-signings from its 2020 team, $75,000 in financial assets and a waiver-draft acquisition that General Manager Gerard Nijkamp said on Wednesday he believes will contribute in 2021.
Seeing as the club opted to pass on its two picks in the re-entry draft, that list of business appears to be the conclusion of FCC's finalized work for the 2020 offseason.
During a Wednesday Zoom call, Nijkamp said he's aware fans want more than the aforementioned list of transactions but he described a pragmatic approach to his roster build for the 2021 season, which is to be FC Cincinnati's first in its new West End stadium.
More:FC Cincinnati flips top re-entry draft pick to Atlanta United for $75K in assets
The domestic and international marketplaces are still intrigued by FC Cincinnati, Nijkamp said, and more transactions are on the horizon.
"We are looking ahead," Nijkamp said. "A lot of work to do. The reason I'm in the Netherlands is because I want to make some trades but also to be in close contact with Jaap (Stam). Daily, we have our meetings but also, of course, with my team and also a lot of time on the phone with Hunter (Freeman) to make at the end of the day the right decision, what is the best case for our club.
"I think nice and good things are coming our way. I'ts always the right moment to make the right decision. I understand for the fans, for the media, to make some announcements soon and I understand and I want to do the same but I want to do also the right decision. What is in the best interest for the club and where we can be successful."
Not surprisingly, FC Cincinnati's roster is in a moment of transition following a 2020 season in which it finished at the bottom of Major League Soccer on a 4-15-4 record.
Many roster spots are currently spoken for. That includes coveted international roster spots, of which each MLS club is allocated eight that it can use or trade. Nijkamp suggested there would be movement in order to remedy that problem.
He also stated that two green cards were in the works for current players.
FC Cincinnati's current roster:
Goalkeepers (3): Ben Lundt, Beckham Sunderland, Przemysław Tytoń
Defenders (5): Saad Abdul-Salaam, Zico Bailey, Nick Hagglund Tom Pettersson, Maikel van der Werff
Midfielders (9): Frankie Amaya, Alvaro Barreal, Allan Cruz, Joseph-Claude-Gyau, Yuya Kubo, Haris Medunjanin, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Caleb Stanko, Ben Mines*
Forwards (3): Franko Kovačević, Jürgen Locadia, Brandon Vazquez
*FC Cincinnati acquired the rights to Mines. The club is yet to announce it has signed him to a contract.
More:FC Cincinnati selects Ben Mines in MLS waiver draft
The club faced a setback in being unable to reach an agreement with Celtic FC to retain the services of left back Andrew Gutman but managed to recoup some of the loss in a trade that Atlanta United used to acquired Gutman's MLS rights.
FC Cincinnati received $75,000 in general allocation money to relinquish the top spot in the first stage of the re-entry draft to Atlanta, which then selected Gutman to claim his MLS rights.
FC Cincinnati also received Atlanta's No. 4 pick, which it did not use. FCC also passed with the first pick in Wednesday's second-stage re-entry draft.
"Simple conclusion. (Gutman) is not our player," Nijkamp said. "It was hard to control him at that point and also with the swap, of course, Atlanta took his rights, but it will also not say if he will also play next season in MLS because Celtic has ideas about him... Hopefully we can announce sooner than later the player or players we will add who can fill in that position of left fullback."
Even with Gutman exiting the picture for FC Cincinnati and significant work to be done in the winter months ahead, optimism seems to prevail for FC Cincinnati's general manager.
Nijkamp described the domestic and international markets for talent as receptive to the FC Cincinnati project, which can offer infrastructure in the Mercy Health Training Center and the West End stadium, in addition to on-field opportunity.
To that end, FC Cincinnati's been linked with high-profile players as the winter transfer window approaches.
"Everyone feels the excitement of what's happening in Cincinnati," Nijkamp said. "Building a roster takes time. The examples are there, so a lot of times after a game we played and we didn't have the result but we played quite well... we get compliments and that is not always nice, especially after a game, but it gives also when you sleep on it, you feel better that you know we are on the right track.
"Players, agents domestically are reaching out to us that they want to be part of this project. Sometimes we start up a conversation. Sometimes I say, 'yeah, but I don't need this position.' Players who are sometimes under contract with teams but that means very positive from the domestic market and from the international market everyone is very surprised in what we did and what the club did in the last five years. Especially in the last two years. Everyone understands that this takes time and we want to have results quick and we are working everyday very hard on that."
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