Results, analysis and state of the roster

San Diego FC’s inaugural roster continues to expand, every week getting closer from theory to reality. This week has been in hyperdrive, with the technical staff working around the clock to add to the group ahead of their debut match in MLS in little more than two months.

Wednesday saw a few trades as well as the highly-anticipated expansion draft, as the club added three players and traded two of their five selections.

Before the draft, San Diego acquired goalkeeper CJ dos Santos from Inter Miami and defender Chris McVey from D.C. United.

As the dust settles, the current roster stands at 13 (including one trade reported by GIVEMESPORT but not yet announced by the club). It’s really taking shape.

What does it all look like?

Expansion draft results

• Pick one: Jasper Löffelsend (Colorado Rapids)
• Pick two: Hamady Diop (Charlotte FC)
• Pick three: Heine Gikling Bruseth (Orlando City)
• Pick four: Thiago Andrade (NYCFC … traded to Toronto FC for the No. 9 SuperDraft selection and $250k GAM add-ons)
• Pick five: Hosei Kijima (St. Louis City… traded to D.C. United for $400k GAM)

San Diego selected three players and traded two selections.

Bruseth is my favorite pick of the bunch.

The 20-year-old Norwegian youth international midfielder was signed by Orlando this summer after long negotiations to bring the player in. Bruseth is a highly-rated talent already with 45 first team appearances under his belt. He didn’t make an appearance for Orlando after joining late this season.

A quick aside: Orlando City have had a player selected in the expansion draft the last three times they have had to participate: Kamal Miller (Austin FC), Niko Gioacchini (St. Louis) and now Bruseth.

Löffelsend is a solid rotational player, whose versatility will be an absolute asset for San Diego. The 27-year-old has made 69 appearances in his first three MLS seasons. He can play fullback and central midfield, plus covers a ton of ground no matter where he is on the pitch.

Diop, 22, was the No. 1 overall selection at the 2023 SuperDraft by Charlotte FC. He is currently on loan at Serbian club FK Cukaricki, where he has made nine appearances. He made four first team appearances for Charlotte in his rookie season. He can play center or left back.

Lastly, the trades.

This is an important part of the expansion draft, to get financial boosts in addition to a few players. That’s what San Diego set out to do and that’s what they accomplished.

The deal for Kijima, in particular, boosts the GAM warchest immediately. GAM is the most valuable budget asset for clubs, helping clubs expand the salary cap. Andrade gets them a young player in the draft (which will be cap-friendly) and the possibility of add-ons in the future.

State of the roster

San Diego’s roster orbits around star winger Chucky Lozano, who was acquired from PSV this summer. He is the piece that will be tasked with driving this club forward from day one, a responsibility the Mexican international is glad to carry.

Lozano, 29, got off to a flying start this season with PSV with four goals and one assist in around 220 minutes before picking up an injury that sidelined him for almost around months but he’s back. He was part of PSV’s league-winning team last year after he returned from a stint with Napoli, where he also won a league title, the club’s first in decades.

Beyond Lozano, the core includes Northern Ireland international defender Paddy McNair, Colombian center back Andres Reyes and Danish duo Jeppe Tverskov and Marcus Ingvartsen. The signing of Reyes was reported by GIVEMESPORT earlier today and has not yet been made official. Those five are the current core

The club had also signed winger Alex Mighten, goalkeeper Duran Ferree and forward Tomas Angel before Wednesday.

McNair, signed as a free agent, should be a high-level defender in MLS. The captain of Northern Ireland and a player with more than 200 appearances in the English Championship, McNair is in the midst of his prime. On loan at West Brom until the winter, he will also be crucial to establishing the culture in the locker room.

Ingvartsen and Tverskov are key players for Danish side Nordsjaelland. Ingvartsen, a versatile forward with one cap for Denmark, had 15 goals and four assists in 2,891 minutes last year. He also had 10 goals in just 1,319 Bundesliga minutes for Mainz two years ago. Tverskov, a defensive midfielder who can also play center back, has 63 appearances for Nordsjaelland already after arriving in the summer of 2023.

Reyes arrives after making 98 appearances for the Red Bulls, a key driving force in their shock playoff run to MLS Cup. Dos Santos can challenge for the starting goalkeeper spot as well.

Those won’t be the only high-priced players. More of that will come, San Diego won’t only shop in the domestic market between now and opening day. The club are still working to add another designated player alongside Lozano.

“I told you I’m not sleeping, we’re working on it,” sporting director Tyler Heaps said on the expansion draft broadcast. “I think it’ll come, we’re close. … It’s about getting the right player.”

Mighten, Ferree, Diop, Angel and Bruseth are talented young players who can earn minutes. This will be a team that values youth development.

McVey and Löffelsend are veterans that will help balance the group. They’ve proven they can play real minutes, too.

Free agency starts on Thursday. Expect San Diego to be active there, too. The news won’t stop.