There were striking similarities the linked Jürgen Locadia's most recent appearance for FC Cincinnati to his March 1, 2020 debut for the club.
This past Saturday against CF Montreal, just as a year ago against New York Red Bulls, Locadia entered a match off the bench for FCC. In both cases, the club was losing, lacking attacking flair and Locadia provided sizzle going forward with a goal.
Locadia looked dominant in both outings. In many ways, he changed the composition of the Montreal and New York games, and he delivered on the promise of his ballyhooed and expensive loan deal, which saw him arrive at FC Cincinnati via the English Premier League's Brighton & Hove Albion.
Locadia's performances on Saturday and on March 1, 2020 have been the exceptions during his stay in Cincinnati.
It's the 447 days in between those dates – a period marked by under-performance and a lack of end product from Locadia – that has colored the vast majority of his time at FC Cincinnati.
Locadia is now in the home stretch of his loan spell at FCC, which was extended mid-pandemic by a year after his promising start for the club prior to MLS pausing its season in 2020 due to COVID-19.
He has three goals in all competitions to show for his time in Orange and Blue. Many will remember his misses and miscues as much or more than the three scores.
That Locadia contributed to Saturday's vital win in several material capacities begged the question: Should FC Cincinnati retain Locadia if possible or let the loan expire, which would bookend the story of another enigmatic performer in the club's short MLS history?
Here's a look at Locadia's situation ahead of the June 30 expiration of his loan:
The upside to keeping Locadia
There's plenty, and he's playing well at the moment, for starters. Locadia really did flip the match in FC Cincinnati's favor. As mentioned above, he has that skill set and capacity in his locker, so to speak. That's very enticing, and it's what you pay him to do (more on that to come).
Locadia could have scored more than once against Montreal and was skillful in facilitating for players around him. Of course, we know that he isn't always doing that, so what else does "Loca" bring to the table?
He's a leader. After the 5-0 loss to New York City FC on April 24, the situation begged for someone in the team to say something – anything – to console the supporters. Locadia was the first to speak up and that was impressive because he wasn't even principally to blame in that match.
An apology for a bad loss isn't going to pay the bills for FCC, though. So, can offer anything else?
Yes. FC Cincinnati was of the data-based belief in 2020 that Locadia was doing productive things on the field even though he wasn't scoring. Off-ball runs and play outside the opposition penalty saw Locadia post solid metrics in those areas last season, so it's not as if he was an empty shirt or squad number. He was productive in a way, just not in the biggest way.
You could also talk about his many close misses as evidence that a bounce here or there might have completely changed the trajectory of Locadia's season, his mentality, etc., but that has been a polarizing discussion for many in the fan base.
The downside to keeping Locadia
This part of the conversation begins and ends with the price tag, which according to MLSPA salary figures is $2,500,000 for this season. And that doesn't include any acquisition costs the club would incur.
Locadia also occupies a valuable international roster spot. FC Cincinnati has 10 international roster spots but still finds itself likely needing flexibility with them (or some personnel movement) before the season ends.
There's no question Locadia can do a job in MLS but for the resources he's tying up, FC Cincinnati simply needs to get more bang for its buck. A wage like Locadia's is for players that unquestionably and reliably contribute on the scoreboard and beyond. Maybe Locadia can be that but that's a stretch-argument based simply on the sample size he's put forward at FCC.
Final verdict
It's probably time for FC Cincinnati move on from Locadia. He's a good player and has potential that hasn't been realized in Cincinnati, and definitely still could be realized. But FCC needs results now. At best, it's a very big question mark as to whether Locadia can be counted on to help them get those results.
Maybe the window of opportunity for Locadia to prove his worth in 2021 was always going to be too small with just eight games for him to play, but that's the circumstance he found himself in. And after 23 appearances in all competitions, three goals just isn't getting the job done.
Locadia earned the money he commanded when he first came to Cincinnati dur but the resources likely required to keep him around are out-sized compared against his productivity during his time in Cincy.
Maybe FC Cincinnati's already rendered a decision on Locadia and is working toward an end, one way of the other. But if the jury is still out, things would need to change on several fronts in order to make retaining Locadia sensible and feasible.
If the team has interest in keeping Locadia around, they need to put him on the field. He's come off the bench in all but one match this season and isn't getting enough opportunities in tthe 40-plus minutes per appearance he's logging. Again, if (and that might be a big "if") the team has interest in keeping him around and giving him a chance to prove himself, he needs to see more action.
Locadia then needs to help himself by performing strongly in remaining matches during his loan period against New England Revolution (Saturday), Colorado Rapids (June 19), Chicago Fire (June 23) and Toronto FC (June 23). More goals and productivity during that stretch would in all likelihood increase public pressure on the club to keep him around. If Locadia demonstrated the team as currently constructed is too reliant on him in the attack and that it would be lessened by his departure, the club might sense the pressure, too, and act to retain him in some fashion.
If all of that happens, then FC Cincinnati might still want (or need) financial concessions relative to the original terms of the purchase option in Locadia's contract.
Perhaps other options, such as another extension of the loan, could be explored.
In sum, the situation is comprised of lots of questions, "if's," and to-be-determined scenarios with almost no wiggle room for the player at the center of it all.
Time very well may have run out on the partnership with FC Cincinnati and Locadia, regardless of what the next few weeks hold for both parties.
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