Going into the 2025 Major League Soccer season, New York City FC were plagued by a severe lack of depth in midfield. James Sands, the team's engine in defensive midfield, was loaned to German Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli on New Year's Day. Not long after, the club's dynamic talisman in attacking midfield, Santiago Rodríguez, was sold for a club record fee to Brazilian high-rollers Botafogo.
These two departures left a void in midfield that needed to be filled for New York City to be competitive in 2025. Yet, just one player was brought in before the end of the winter transfer window: Aiden O'Neill.
Signed from Belgian Pro League side Standard Liege for a reported fee of around $2.9 million, the pressure to replace New York City's fan favorite No 6 was intense. But the 23-time capped Australian slotted straight into Pascal Jansen's Starting XI, and never looked back.
In 17 starts across 20 matches played since May 10th, O'Neill has solidified the Pigeons on the field, while contributing to one of the strongest defensive units in the Eastern Conference. With NYCFC looking to climb into a Top 4 spot going into Decision Day after a red-hot run of form in recent weeks, it's time to take a closer look at how the Aussie provides the foundation for the team's suddenly potent midfield.
Hudson River Blue Staff
A rock from down under
It was always going to take a serious signing to replace the defensive role Sands played for New York City in 2024.
The American led all MLS midfielders with 91 tackles and 214 duels won. Sands ranked in the 98th percentile for aerial duels won (58) and interceptions (55), in the 97th percentile for recoveries (227), and in the 96th percentile for blocked shots (15).
It's fair to say that Sands set the standard for defensive midfielders last campaign, not just at New York City, but across the entire league, leaving O'Neill with massive boots to fill in 2025. Yet, after 20 matches since May, the Australian looks up to the task. This comes despite adjusting to changing partnerships in the midfield as Andrés Perea replaced an injured Keaton Parks, and Nico Fernández Mercau joined the team on a Designated Player contract in the summer.
While the Australian's numbers don't jump off the pages like those of Sands, they're strong for a player adjusting to a new team in an unfamiliar league. O'Neill ranks in the 80th percentile of all midfielders in tackles (44) and percentage of duels won (55.4%), proving how efficient a tackler he has been since arriving in the Big Apple.
Within the squad, O'Neill also ranks high, with the second-most interceptions (0.8), second-most blocks (0.2 ), and 3rd most clearances (1.1) per 90 minutes out of all NYCFC midfielders.
With the Australian featuring alongside an ever-changing cast of defensive midfield partners, O'Neill has proved to be a constant force of stability in front of the Pigeons' backline.
This cover allows his partners in midfield, like Andrés Perea and Justin Haak, to venture forward and contribute to the attack, a strategy that has proven fruitful, with the Americans combining for nine goal contributions in 2025.
Effective in transition
Outside of defending, O'Neill has also been asked to replicate the contributions that Sands made in transition. Again, Sands is a tough act to follow. In a system that requires clinical passing to play out from the back, O'Neill needed to take a page out of the playbook of one of the most effective passers in the MLS last campaign.
Sands was arguably NYCFC's best passing midfielder in 2024, ranking second in the squad for accurate passes (51.4) and third for accurate long balls (2.6) per 90 minutes. Sands was at the top of the league for these metrics as well, ranking in the 94th percentile for accurate passes (1,666) and 85th percentile for accurate long balls (84) of all midfielders.
This left O'Neill with more responsibilities as a defensive midfielder and a spark-plug for the offense. And thanks to his poise and stability alongside more attack-minded players like Perea and Haak, O'Neill has settled into this role comfortably.
Sitting in the 74th and 70th percentiles of all MLS midfielders for successful passes and pass accuracy, respectively, O'Neill has proved to be a competent cog as Jansen's side attempts to play out from the back.
Operating from deep in the New York City half, O'Neill's presence and ability to connect the backline with those springing on the attack provide great cover for those in attacking midfield.
Transition football requires quick and accurate passing to catch opposing defenses flat-footed and out of shape, something the Australian does quite well.
When the ball is played out into the midfield, O'Neill's experience allows the play to flow through him. He's rarely dispossessed, losing the ball just 12 times this season. The Australian is clinical: he receives the ball quickly, scans the field, and distributes accurately. And though he doesn't venture forward with the ball at his feet very often, the Australian ranks in the 80th percentile for dribble success rate, with 64% completed.
As a result, Maxi Moralez and, more recently, Nico, are now able to operate more freely in the No 10 role, forcing defenders out of position to counteract their movements, thus opening more channels for speedy forwards like Alonso Martínez and Agustín Ojeda to exploit.
And at the very center of these movements, whether following a goal kick, corner, or free kick, is O'Neill. He is the gear that allows these counter-attacks to function so effectively.
Versatility: A Jansen principle
New York City Head Coach Pascal Jansen has shown a preference for a distinct player profile in his first season as head coach of New York City. Jansen's system can shift from a back four to a back three or five across 90 minutes, and the head coach has filled his squad with versatile players who can take up multiple roles on any given night.
This desire has seen players like Haak and Perea feature prominently for the Dutchman, with the former starting all 33 matches at center back or defensive midfielder, while the latter has appeared across the frontline, midfield, and in defense.
O'Neill is another who fits this profile well, with the ability to command the midfield from the No 6 role, along with slotting into the backline as an auxiliary center back in a pinch when the team requires.
Take last week's 1-0 loss to the newly-crowned Supporters Shield winners in Philadelphia. The Union absolutely dominated proceedings at Subaru Park during the first 45 minutes, peppering Matt Freese's goal with eight shots, five of which from inside the box. By contrast, the Pigeons fashioned just three shots, with only speculative effort from outside the box testing the Union goal.
O'Neill was not on the field during the first half, as Jansen opted to give the Australian a much-deserved period of rest. (More on that below.) But after going down 1-0 in the first half, New York City's April signing was brought on at the break, and the momentum shifted the moment he stepped on the field.
Don't get us wrong, the Union were the much better team on the night, and played like it throughout the 90 minutes. But the second half saw a tighter contest. The Union managed only one shot on target from inside the New York City penalty area, while the Pigeons saw a significant uptick in possession and in the number of passes strung together.
And at the center of this shift was O'Neill, whose calm yet commanding presence in midfield helped bring the Pigeons back into the game. O'Neill completed 80% of his passes, including six passes into the final third. Just as important, he didn't lose possession once. The Australian's two tackles and four recoveries also ensured that the Union's advantage remained just one goal.
The Australian's ability to contribute to developing attacks and locking down defensively brings a level of versatility that goes under-appreciated in the New York City squad. With the players around him contributing more in terms of numbers – whether it be goals, assists, or clean sheets – O'Neill continues to be the ironclad link between both sides of the ball.
60 games, 4978 minutes
O'Neill has only played half of the minutes afforded to Sands in 2024. Not only did he join the team well after the start of the season, but Jansen has opted to rotate O'Neill every so often so as not to run the midfielder into the ground. After all, O'Neill has featured in over 60 matches since the start of the 2024/25 European calendar with Standard Liege last August, depriving him of an offseason.
In his 14 months of nonstop soccer between club and country, O'Neill has played a whopping 4,978 minutes. By comparison, ironman Justin Haak has logged 3,273 minutes while playing every NYCFC match this season, including games in MLS, Leagues Cup, and US Open Cup.
Yet, there's a reason for this. O'Neill is an integral piece of the puzzle for every one of the teams that call on him. Like he showed last week vs Philadelphia, O'Neill is crucial to the overall flow of New York City's game, whether it be through his passing, tackling, or just presence in midfield.
Safe to say, the Pigeons need O'Neill to be fully fit and firing in the MLS Cup Playoffs if the squad hopes to make a deep run. Jansen gave the Australian a rest during the first 45 minutes vs Philadelphia, and the Pigeons found themselves in a hole. With that result comes a predicament for Jansen on Decision Day.
New York City needs a win over Seattle to retain a shot at home-field advantage in Round One of the playoffs. With the international break taking O'Neill away on duty with Australia, these two weeks don't offer the midfielder much rest in preparation for the playoffs. Does Jansen start O'Neill against Seattle and set the team up to win? Or does he rest the Australian, knowing that NYCFC will open Round One the following week, and hope the rest of the team can find a way to get three points and vie for home-field advantage?
Considering New York City is already safely in the playoffs, and that Jansen has shown no fear in rotating his side in big matches, it's a coin flip as to which direction the Dutchman will choose.
But what is certain is that O'Neill will be one of the first names on Jansen's team sheet come playoffs, and will continue to do so as the Pigeons look to punch higher up the table, both this season and beyond.
