In this edition of the Hudson River Blue Roundtable, John Baney, Andrew Leigh, Matthew Mangam, Mark Radigan, and Raf Noboya y Rivera look at what we learned in the 2026 preseason, and what we can expect to see in New York City FC's second season under Head Coach Pascal Jansen and first season under Sporting Director Todd Dunivant.
Hudson River Blue: Let’s start with a gut check: How are you feeling about this New York City squad leading into the season opener on Sunday?
Matthew Mangam: I think the squad is in a great spot. Every position is strong, except for striker. I’m confident that the Kai Trewin signing will be great, and although he won’t be Justin Haak 2.0, I’m sure he will make an impact. We also know what to expect out of the returners, which is a good thing. Bring on Pascal Jansen’s second season at the helm.
John Baney: I feel better than I did this time last season, which is pretty promising considering NYCFC made the Conference Finals last year. How NYCFC can manage the loss of Alonso Martínez, and the failed signing of Moussa Sylla as a replacement, will likely determine whether they can build off last season or not.
Andrew Leigh: That there’s more depth up and down the roster when compared to what they had to start the 2025 season, but that the squad still remains one or two players away from really challenging for a spot among what you’d consider the elite group of MLS teams, like Inter Miami or LAFC, or similar.
Mark Radigan: While I’m more confident going into the regular season this year rather than in 2025, I’m still concerned with the state of the squad’s front line. Martínez had 18 MLS goals in 2025, which was 36% of New York City’s season total. I’m still waiting for those attacking reinforcements the Toddfather promised.
Raf Noboa y Rivera: I feel slightly better. Obviously, just like last season, this roster has pretty solid gaps: Martinez is out for most of the season, if not all of it, the FO whiffed on signing Sylla, and even though Trewin is presumably a good acquisition, I think we should’ve done better at keeping Haak, given he was one of our homegrowns.
That said: Seymour Reid’s the real deal as a teenager, and I’m excited to see how he does against real MLS competition leading the line.
Mark Radigan
HRB: What are your takeaways from preseason training? What did we learn from Coachella?
JB: Keaton Parks is back! Pascal Jansen has proved he can make this midfield work with just about anyone in there, Kevin O’Toole included, but the peak Jansen-ball we saw at the end of 2025 never had the luxury of dropping in a healthy Keaton Parks. On his day, he’s a top midfielder in MLS. So, seeing him pulling strings out there in Coachella is a significant development for NYCFC ahead of 2026.
RNyR: I’ll echo the Parks praise. If the training staff can keep him healthy, that’ll make such a huge difference. The other part is seeing young players play; even if they don’t make the big team, you hope they can contribute to the Squabs.
MM: As John said, it’s great that Parks is back and we’re seeing more of O’Toole in the midfield, which looked good against Philadelphia in the playoffs. There isn’t much to take out of Coachella, but it’s cool to see some of the youngsters like Max Murray and Drew Baiera get some minutes — seeing how those guys perform is always something we can take out of preseason.
MR: I’m thrilled that Parks is back with the boys, but I was really impressed with Agustín Ojeda these past few weeks. With Julián Fernández officially out the door, Jansen clearly trusts Ojeda to be a difference maker for the Pigeons, and I’m looking forward to seeing the energy the Argentine brings this season. With Alonso out, the opportunity for Ojeda to grab a place in the Starting XI is right in front of him; he just needs the consistency to take it.
AL: Coachella showed me how badly Martínez will be missed. Rolling with Nico Fernández Mercau, Talles Magno (when healthy), or Reid in that spot just does not seem like it will be enough to adequately replace what they’ll be missing with Alonso sidelined.
Once the Sylla deal collapsed, if they intended to use those Coachella games to figure out if they had enough on hand to fill in for Martínez’s missing goals, the answer should have been loud and clear to Dunivant: They do not and still need another proven option at striker, badly.
HRB: Obvious question, but: What’s the biggest hole in this roster?
JB: The obvious answer is a No 9, but I’ll zag here for the sake of argument. While NYCFC are missing a natural center forward in a positional sense, what they really lack is a consistent goalscorer. If this team had reliable goal threats on the wings or in midfield, they could probably cope without a true No 9. But, I’m not sure I trust Nico Fernández, Hannes Wolf, Talles Magno, Agustin Ojeda, or Maxi Moralez to put up Alonso-esque numbers, regardless of where any of them play on the field.
MR: I’m beating a dead horse, but New York City will not look as strong as in 2025 without signing a true back-up striker, or a No 9 who can pair up with Alonso when he returns.
Reid is too inexperienced and too raw to be the guy right now, and Nico Fernández’s skillset would be much better suited in attacking midfield. Plus, Raf is right. Maxi is going to be 39 this year. I got egg on my face last season for this, but Maxi Moralez should NOT start more than 30 games this season. If a striker isn’t brought in, slot Nico up there and sign a young and starting quality No 10.
RNyR: Man, it’s really the scoring. I said up top that I’m excited to see Reid up top, but after all, he’s just 17! That’s a lot of responsibility to put on his shoulders. MLS is taking a break from May 25 to July 16 for the World Cup, so I’m hoping that Dunivant takes that time to land a solid goalscorer. The other piece would be a midfield orchestrator. Maxi’s awesome, but he’s also 38. With a healthy Parks and a full season of Nico Fernández, that’s less of a need, but still, it’s something I’m keeping an eye on.
MM: I don’t think there’s any other answer besides striker. As of right now, Talles Magno is expected to be out one to two weeks, leaving NYCFC without a “striker” to start the season. The failure to sign Sylla looks like a horrible outcome right now, but if a striker is brought in, things could change. Still, not having Martínez to surely bag at least 15 goals for most of the season will hurt, no matter what happens.
AL: I think we’re unanimous. A reliable goal-scorer who can line up as a center-forward or as a wide attacker might not be the easiest player to find before March 26, when the MLS Primary Transfer Window closes, but it’s what this year’s team desperately needs, especially since Kai Trewin seems up to the task of replacing Justin Haak.
Andrew Leigh
