FC Cincinnati's roster construction for the 2022 Major League Soccer season could be interrupted by Charlotte FC's selections Tuesday's expansion draft.
Charlotte will make five total selections from a league-wide list of eligible player, but each club announced Monday their respective lists of 12 protected players that can't be chosen by the first-year MLS team.
FC Cincinnati revealed its list of protected players Monday, and it includes includes Luciano Acosta, Isaac Atanga, Álvaro Barreal, Tyler Blackett, Brenner Souza da Silva, Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Ronald Matarrita, Haris Medunjanin, Kyle Scott, Gustavo Vallecilla, and Brandon Vázquez.
Medunjanin's contract ran out at the end of the 2021 season, and Hagglund's contract option was declined by the club. Their status on the protected list might or might not indicate the club has interest in bringing them back.
Also, FC Cincinnati's Zico Bailey (Homegrown), Calvin Harris (Generation adidas), Ben Mines (Homegrown), Arquimides ‘Quimi’ Ordonez (Homegrown) and Beckham Sunderland (Homegrown) are protected in the draft. All five players met specific MLS Homegrown and Generation Adidas criteria which exempts them from being available to Charlotte.
More:FC Cincinnati declines contract options for nine including Nick Hagglund, Przemyslaw Tytoń
The 17 players are necessarily guaranteed to be with the club for the 2022 season, but it means they'll likely remain in Orange and Blue for at least the foreseeable future.
FC Cincinnati's draft-eligible list, which features some out-of-contract and likely departing players, including Edgar Castillo, Allan Cruz, Chris Duvall, Jonas Fjeldberg, Avionne Flanagan, Joseph-Claude Gyau, Kubo, Yuya Ben Lundt, Kamohelo Mokotjo, Caleb Stanko, Przemyslaw Tyton, Florian Valot, Maikel van der Werff and Kenneth Vermeer eligible for selection by Charlotte.
Once the draft commences at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Charlotte will have five rounds of selection-making, with one player to be taken in each round.
The rounds can last up to three minutes.
Five clubs won't have to worry about players being lifted from their rosters. Los Angeles Galaxy, Nashville SC, New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC and San Jose Earthquakes are exempted from the draft after having players selected last year during Austin FC's expansion draft.
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