Columbus Crew offseason guide: Priorities and how to defend an MLS Cup

Wilfried Nancy’s Columbus Crew end 2023 as MLS Cup champions, but also as the soccer aesthete’s favorite team.

In one year, Columbus underwent a tactical and philosophical overhaul. The club was courageous and pushed to not only win, but win their way.

Moving forward, they have all the tools to continue to do so. Most of the squad is under long-term contracts and Nancy’s ability to develop players is a cheat code in this league.

The short version: This team isn’t going anywhere.

State of the roster

Head coach: Wilfried Nancy (since 2023)
Chief Soccer Officer: Tim Bezbatchenko (since 2020)

The good

Before getting to all the Crew’s talented players, it’s worth noting Nancy’s track record, with a huge number of players having their best-ever seasons under him over the last three years in Montreal and Columbus. With Nancy at the helm, you can expect that damn near every player is going to be maximized, from stars to role players.

And there are plenty of stars. Cucho Hernandez will be in the 2024 MLS MVP prediction conversations after his Best XI-worth 2023, which only got better as the season went on.

Cucho’s running mate Diego Rossi will get a full preseason under Nancy and the staff ahead of 2024, and that could be crucial. Rossi’s best year was with LAFC in 2020, in which he won the Golden Boot. Players in roles similar to his like Romell Quioto, Djordje Mihailovic, Alexandru Matan and Lucas Zelarayan all had their best years ever under Nancy.

Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris may be the league’s best central midfield duo. They are the engine room that wins and keeps the ball so well, allowing the Crew’s wide center backs and wingbacks to constantly go forward.

Those wide center backs — Steven Moreira and Malte Amundsen — had career-best years in 2023 as well. Moreira was on my Best XI ballot and Amundsen’s assist in MLS Cup will be on highlight reels for some time.

Center back Rudy Camacho fits perfectly in Nancy’s system while goalkeeper Patrick Schulte has shot up the U.S. U-23 depth chart and there’s a legitimate argument to be made that he should be the starter over Gaga Slonina and Chris Brady. He was playing for the Crew’s second team last year.

Christian Ramirez became a wildly overqualified backup forward in the playoffs. Jacen Russell-Rowe has so much competition to get on the field because the attack is so good, but he performs when he gets the chance. How many positions can Sean Zawadzki play? Who’s going to be the next contributor to come from the Crew’s pipeline from the academy into the second team and into the first team?

The Bad

I’m struggling to come up with much here. It’s not ideal that this roster has only one natural, starting-caliber center back…but that probably doesn’t matter as much given how Moreira and Amundsen played next to Camacho.

A bunch of players should be due new contracts, but the Crew already signed Moreira and Camacho to new deals, announced ahead of their parade on Tuesday. Nagbe already signed his new contract. Morris signed his during the 2023 season.

Columbus’ only worry is when a European team comes in with a big offer for Cucho. The club’s preference is for him to stay for a long time. But with the Crew’s demonstrated ability to maneuver on the fly, I’m sure they have targets lined up for if a deal that’s too good to pass up arrives.

What could change

Julian Gressel, acquired midseason from the Vancouver Whitecaps, seems like he’ll be a cap casualty after not starting for most of the playoff run. He’ll be one of the league’s most coveted free agents. The Crew appreciated him and he appreciated them, but the reality of a salary-capped league is that you can’t pay everyone.

The move was a big success, with Gressel an integral part to getting to MLS Cup.

Beyond that, Nagbe’s new contract means the Crew can add another DP this winter if they choose. It’s legitimately difficult to figure out if it’s even necessary at the moment.

The infrastructure

Columbus’ brand-new training facility and stadium are among the very best in the league. The team spends money — including a $10 million fee for Cucho and north of $5 million for Rossi.

The front office infrastructure with Tim Bezbatchenko, Corey Wray, Issa Tall, Neil McGuiness and Marc Nicholls has to be viewed as the strongest braintrust in the league at this moment after winning MLS Cup.

Offseason priorities

Re-sign key players

This box has, by and large, already been checked. Giving new deals to Nagbe, Moreria and Camacho was crucial for the Crew ahead of the offseason. Schulte will be in line for one soon, as will Alexandru Matan.

Add depth at right wingback

Assuming Gressel isn’t back, the group will need another option at right wingback with Mo Farsi the presumed starter.

They could focus some salary allocation there or see if the next crop of kids at Crew 2 is ready in preseason.

Keep Cucho and Morris through another window (or more)

If the Crew are to challenge for the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2024, they’ll need Cucho and Morris. There’s interest abroad in both.

There’s not enough smoke to suggest they’ll definitely on the way out, but it’s something on the radar.