The past week has been another busy one for many clubs who are trying to shore up the last few key pieces before the start of the 2024 season. Some teams are the finished article, looking for depth or difference makers off the bench. Others are still looking to fill some of the more glaring areas of need in their squad. Others still have finally signed A PLAYER (Charlie Adams’ image should be on the Vegas Sphere right now, change my mind) and are looking to add more still. Today we will take a look at the most recent transactions across the USL Championship and dig into the stats to see just what these players are going to add to their respective squads in 2024.

Charlie Adams - Central Midfield - LAS * VEGAS * LIGHTS * (THIS IS NOT A DRILL)

How fitting it was that while we were all focused on the fact that Vegas was finally about to announce a player they hit us with the off-hand hook that is Charlie Adams being purchased from Tulsa before he’s even had a chance to pull on the white, gold and patina green. Despite playing in central midfield, he was more of a left-sided player in practice for San Diego. He covers loads of space out there, wins 63% of his duels, and is one of the most reliable passers you will find in USL. His 85% pass completion rate is all well and good but him completing 75% of the passes he makes into the final third means that he is constantly getting the team into better positions. His crossing, both from open play and from set pieces, is absolute class. Five of his six assists in 2023 came off of crosses and with this quality, combined with experience in USL made it clear why Vegas have nicked him off of Tulsa.

Harvey St. Clair - Right Back - FC Tulsa

Tulsa has had the strangest offseason in USL and yes I’m including Las Vegas in this. They lost their manager, (oh and his staff as well. Richie Ryan is now coaching FC Cincinnati’s U19s for those interested,) and now they’ve lost three players who left the club having not pulled on the shirt. The response from Tulsa so far has not addressed the Adams news specifically but they have added Harvey St. Clair. A former Chelsea Academy product, St. Clair joined Venezia but has been out on loan for much of his time in Italy. His last season in Serie C with Vis Pesaro, he primarily was utilized at Right back. He was a battler with some significant skill from set pieces. While his 75% passing accuracy isn’t anything to get overly excited about, he generated about a shot per match which is decent for a defender and delivered about 4 crosses per 90. This propensity to make a difference at the top end means that whether he is meant to be depth behind Angel Bernal or Milo Yosef as a winger, he has the chance to do just that.

Stefan Stojanovic - Striker - FC Tulsa

There will be a few on this list who are making the step up from MLS Next Pro and Stefan Stojanovic joining Tulsa from Philadelphia Union II is another. New Tulsa boss Mario Sanchez pointed to Stojanovic’s “physical presence” and “great instincts in front of goal” as the main reasons they brought him in, do the numbers support the eye test? He did get into double digits with 10 goals for Union II in 2023 and that outperformed his xG by a full goal which means he does have a sharp finishing touch if not completely outrageous. He also is a bit of a counterpresser with 6 defensive duels won per 90 minutes and 62% of his possession recoveries are in the opposition half. He is not necessarily the strongest aerial presence as he won just 32% of those aerial duels but the goals he scores all have loads of striker’s instincts dripping off of them. He is on the end of so many good through passes or cut backs and he just seems to get into great positions. The confidence he carries himself with will suit him well in a striking outfit that features Phillip Goodrum.

Karsen Henderlong - Forward - Indy Eleven

*Image courtesy of Indiana Men’s Soccer*

It is pretty rare to see a USL club take a kid straight out of college these days but Indiana Hoosier and native Karsen Henderlong is a good depth option for Indy in an attack that now features Augi Williams alongside Sebastian Guenzatti. Henderlong logged 18 goals and six assists across his college career at Xavier and Indiana which is just about .40 goals per 90, meaning he was logging a goal every 2-3 matches and a goal involvement of some type every other match on average. He is certainly a fox in the box, getting on the end of scraps and looking for opportunities in the area but he knows where the goal is and has a good left foot on him as well. He gets involved in the air as well, winning the ball in 40% of his aerial duels in a very physical collegiate game. If there can be a criticism it is that he actually underperformed his expected goals in his career and in the 2023 fall season grabbed four goals off an xG of about 7 which means he will need to become more efficient in front of net to continue to turn heads at a professional level.

Justin Rasmussen - Left Back - Oakland Roots

Justin Rasmussen joins Oakland as another of the MLS Next Pro players making the move to the USL Championship. The left back had been plying his trade at Portland Timbers II and he will almost certainly serve as depth for Baboucarr Njie in that role. Looking at Rasmussen’s defensive characteristics, he is decent, winning about half of his defensive duels and recovering possession about five times per match. His progressive running, always handy in a full back, is also pretty good, progressing his team about 59 meters up the field per match. Where Rasmussen really shines though is in his crossing. He completed about 3 crosses per 90 last year but the really impressive part is that he completed half of his crosses. Crossing is often an inexact science and you will typically see completion rates around 20-30% even for elite crossers of the ball. You have to like how that fits into a system that now features Miche-Naider Chery who made his whole name scoring CONCACAF Champions League goals with his head against big opposition.

Joey Akpunonu - Center Back - Hartford Athletic

Joey Akpunonu feels like the quintessential modern center back. Joining the new-look Hartford Athletic on loan from FC Cincinnati, Akpunonu feels like someone that could make a first team impact despite making the jump up from MLS Next Pro. He is extremely reliable in his duels (65% win rate,) in the air (60% aerial duel win rate,) and he recovers possession a lot (11 times per game.) Where he becomes that more modern archetype is in his passing. While an 87% completion rate is not odd for a center back given they are often playing short, low-risk passes while Akpunonu focuses on progressing the ball. He gained FC Cincy II about 412 meters of field with his passing per game and maintained that high accuracy despite an average pass length of 24.5 meters. The kid has an eye for a big switch and it does not feel far fetched to see him getting some time next to Joe Farrell.

Mohamed Buya Turay - Striker - Birmingham Legion

*Image courtesy of Odense Boldklub social media*

With Neco Brett headed to the other side of the Southern Harm Derby with Memphis 901, Birmingham have added both veteran USL striker Stefano Pinho and the first foreign-based player on this list, Mohamed Buya Turay. Turay has been playing for OB in Denmark’s Superliga and is a really classic striker in many ways. He does not carry the ball forward often with only one dribble per 90. He links up with the other forwards but is primarily there as a shot generator. In somewhat limited minutes in Denmark he was averaging just about two shots per 90 and winning four offensive duels. The key stat where Birmingham will be hoping he improves is in goals and assists. He logged just a single goal and a single assist in Denmark so he will have to improve on that rate to be a difference maker in a Neco Brett-sized hole in Birmingham. His career return of a goal or assist every 180 minutes would probably be enough to put a dent in replacing Brett’s output.

Sofiane Djeffal - Central Midfield - Orange County SC

For the last couple players coming from MLS Next Pro, Orange County landing Sofiane Djeffal is a player who had legitimate (if fringe) minutes in MLS last season at Austin FC. So what sort of profile in the middle of the park does Djeffal bring to an already pretty stacked midfield in Orange County? Primarily he brings a technical edge to a team that can help out attackers like Thomas Amang, Christian Sorto and Ethan Zubak among others. His ability in the pass, where he’s got an 86% career completion percentage, including 70% of his passes into the final third, really makes him a potential game changer for OC. Match that with the fact he is very good on the turn in midfield and can eat up space on the dribble (where he is also successful 66% of the time) and he can really add something to an already strong midfield.

Kendall Burks - Center Back - San Antonio FC

Sticking with the MLS to USL pipeline we have Kendall Burks joining SAFC from Chicago Fire. While he made a bulk of his appearances in MLS Next Pro, he also saw time with the first team so he was another player on the cusp of serious MLS minutes. Often playing in a back three system, he should fit in well to Alen Marcina’s scheme, but why else would they target him? He’s a good passer and comfortable enough on the ball but anyone who has seen SAFC over the last few years knows that the defenders have to defend first and foremost. So how good is Burks? He wins 66% of his overall duels which is solid but he claims 72% of the aerial duels. That is an absolutely elite return in the air and will have been a huge draw for SAFC in a League where physical center forward play or set pieces can be such a problem for many defenses. Add in that he’s very proactive and either recovers or intercepts possession about 20 times per 90 and you’re looking at a defender who should make a big splash in Texas this season.

Nick Moon - Left Wing/Wingback - Tampa Bay Rowdies

Nick Moon joined Tampa Bay this week and I think this is one of those transfers that you should just see coming. Moon is well-established as a talent in USL and has also been undergoing a bit of a change in how he’s been utilized since joining San Diego Loyal two years ago. Almost exclusively used as a pure winger at Indy Eleven, he has been utilized in a more defensive role recently. His attacking numbers are still decent but his role just did not have him putting in the amount of shots and crosses that he had in the past. In fact he was only playing about 26 passes per 90 last year and only logging about 2 crosses. He was primarily a ball carrier, completing 6 dribbles per 90, and a battler, going into about 20 duels per match and winning better than half of them. His defensive duels, where he is trying to stop the attacker, he was even better, winning 60%. He was also surprisingly good in the air, winning about two-thirds of aerial duels. All that said, Tampa will have its choice with Moon, to put him back in the attack where he scored three and assisted five in 2021 for Indy, or to deploy him in defense where he has been extremely reliable for SD.

- Phil Baki