With one more goal, Hannes Wolf will notch his 10th goal of the Major League Soccer season — and become just the 10th player to score in double digits for New York City FC in league play.

If (when?) he scores again, Wolf will join a pantheon that features David Villa (4 times), Taty Castellanos (3), and Alonso Marínez (2), and that includes Héber, Frank Lampard, Alexandru Mitriță, Frank Lampard, Santiago Rodríguez, Ismael Tajouri-Shradi, and Jack Harrison. Just as telling are the players who aren't on the list. A 10-goal season eluded high-profile attackers such as Talles Magno (who scored seven goals in 2022), Gabriel Pereira (eight goals in 2022), Maxi Moralez (eight goals in 2018), and Jesús Medina (nine goals in 2021).

New York City FC | 10+ Goals, Regular Season

Not only would Wolf etch his name in club history, but it would be the first time ever that the 26-year-old scored 10 league goals in a single season. The nine goals he knocked in this year are already a personal best, topping the eight goals he twice scored with RB Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga, first in the 2017-18 season then again in 2018-19. Scoring a tenth will not only secure him a spot among the club's all-time goal leaders, it will represent a personal milestone for a player who suffered a horrific fracture in 2019 that derailed a once-promising career, and who is finding redemption at New York City.

14 Goal involvements, 7 games left to play

Wolf also has five assists this year, giving him 14 goal involvements total – that already tops the 12 he logged last year. One more goal or assist will give him 15 in league play this season, equalling the personal best he set in 2018-19.

Hannes Wolf | Goals + Assists by Season

Wolf's 14 (and counting) goal involvements this year, and the 12 from last year, represent something like a return to form for a player who was considered the future of the midfield of the Austrian men's national team. Wolf is finding the production at New York City that eluded him during his stints at RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the German Bundesliga, and at Swansea City in the EFL Championship.

But Wolf hit a few dry patches in his time at NYCFC. After joining New York City before the start of the 2024 season, it took some time for Wolf to adjust to his new team, and a new league. He began the season slowly, with his first goal involvement not coming until Matchday 8 despite making the Starting XI every game.

Hannes Wolf | Goals + Assists at New York City FC

He went on to add another nine goal involvements in the following 13 games as he developed his onfield chemistry with Rodríguez, who went on to have the most productive year of his career to date, scoring 12 goals and logging six assists. But then Wolf tapered off, adding just two more goal involvements in the final 13 games of the season.

What happened?

Was it the MLS summer schedule? Wolf provided both assists in Matchday 21's 2-0 win over CF Montréal at Citi Field, but then Wolf and the rest of the team wilted during the four-game roadtrip in July that saw travel to Austin FC, Chicago Fire, Atlanta United, and Orlando City, and open a nine-game winless streak that threatened to derail the season.

Was it because Cushing was redesigning the attack on the fly? Mounsef Bakrar fell out of favor halfway through the season, but Martínez didn't become the everyday striker until Matchday 20. We now look at Martínez as a write-his-name-in-Sharpee starter, forgetting that he didn't get that role until late June. Everybody had to make adjustments.

Or was it the fatigue of Wolf becoming an everyday starter for the first time in his career?

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2,073 Minutes and counting

In 2022-23, Wolf logged just 449 minutes for 'Gladbach, making just four starts. The following year at New York City, Wolf played 2,559 minutes while making 32 starts in 34 league appearances, setting new personal highs across the board.

Hannes Wolf | Minutes by Season

The 2,559 minutes he logged for NYCFC in 2024 are well above the previous mark set in 2021-22, when he played a combined 1,855 minutes for Swansea (1,548 minutes) and 'Gladbach (307 minutes). Last year, Wolf simply played more professional soccer than he had ever before.

With 2,073 minutes through 27 games, Wolf is on track to meet or even exceed his minute total from last year. At the same time, his production is up. Wolf started the season strong, with four goal involvements in the first six games of the season, then failed to add any more for the following nine games. Since then, Wolf has had ten goal involvements in 12 games, playing a role in almost half of the 22 goals New York City scored in that time.

Could the conditioning that Wolf underwent last year help explain his current form? After all, he began 2025 with a 2,559-minute season under his belt, as well as the experience of knowing what it's like to play in Austin and Orlando in July. Nothing about a 34-game season in MLS should come as a surprise. Last year, Wolf looked to be gassed at this point. This year, he looks alert and energetic, like a player who is now prepared to go a full season as an everyday starter.

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The high exceptions for a $1.5 million player

Despite all of the encouraging numbers, it still feels as if Wolf isn't quite delivering on his promise.

Maybe it's because the attacker was the team's second-highest paid player at the start of the year — while that's likely no longer the case after the midseason addition of Nico Fernández, Wolf's $1.5 million salary makes him a Designated Player-caliber signing who has yet to exhibit Designated Player-caliber consistency. Going through a six- or seven-game drought can be rough on the team when you're undroppable.

Maybe it's because of the dual-Bundesliga pedigree. Wolf came up through the highly technical Austrian league, then was tapped to make the move to even more competitive teams in Germany. Surely the attacker who was signed by 'Gladbach for a reported €12 million in 2019 can find a way to get a goal past DC United.

Maybe it's the hair. Anybody who can go a full 90 minutes with a part that sharp and precise is setting unrealistic expectations.

But Wolf was always a reclamation project. He might be making $1.5 million, but he was signed on a free — look at his numbers in recent years, and you see why other clubs weren't fighting for his signature.

If the goal of the 2024 season was to turn Wolf into an everyday starter for the first time in his career, then it was a success. If the goal of the 2025 season was for Wolf to step up and become one of the stars of the league, then the results (so far) aren't as convincing. He remains a full step behind comparable players such as 27-year-old Anders Dreyer of San Diego FC (14 goals, 18 assists), 26-year-old Dejan Joveljic of Sporting Kansas City (17 goals, 2 assists), or 30-year-old Philip Zinckernagel (12 goals, 13 assists).

But the season isn't over yet. Wolf has seven games left to super-size his second year at New York City, and set himself up for an even stronger 2026.

Hannes Wolf | Statistics by Season