Pigeon Pulse: February 9, 2018

Welcome to Hudson River Blue’s weekly roundup of all things New York City FC, MLS, and the world of soccer. We are now less than a month away from the start of the regular season, and that means new kits are here and preseason matches are on the docket.

NYCFC

• Is this New York City FC academy player the club’s next Homegrown signing?: Justin Haak — a former Metropolitan Oval youth player — has impressed in training camp so far.

• NYCFC reveal away jersey for 2018/19: The new kits are here for your enjoyment.

• Ring: We Want More in 2018: NYCFC.com interviews the club’s central defender ahead of the 2018 season.

MLS

• Why it is hard to ‘play the kids?’: Despite the perception that more youngsters are getting minutes, does MLS still have a problem “playing the kids?”

• What the hell is Soccer United Marketing?: U.S. Soccer sells its TV and sponsorship rights to a sports marketing company run by MLS owners. Here’s why that matters and how it affects the presidential election.

• Negotiations continue: The latest on the Zlatan Ibrahimović saga: English reports claim a beef with Alexis Sanchez could hasten his departure from Manchester United.

Around the World

• Barcelona spend big but Atletico Madrid and Valencia also strengthen in January window

• Soccer officials need to become anonymous again: Jon Moss is a real person with a name, but you’d forget about The Referee very quickly.

If you have an article suggestion or would like to discuss any that were included, let us know in the comments.