Position: Winger
Age: 25
Key Stat: One assist across the final 16 games of the season including MLS league play and the MLS Cup Playoffs.
With the transfer of Santi Rodríguez to Botafogo set to be completed and a new head coach taking over, what will Hannes Wolf’s role look like for New York City FC in 2025?
Signed on a free transfer in January 2024, the Austrian played 42 times in all competitions for New York City FC last season, making 39 starts. Despite racking up over 3,100 minutes, the fifth-most in the squad, the Austrian’s impact in front of goal left a bit to be desired.
With the departure of Santi Rodríguez to Brazilian Série A outfit Botafogo for a rumored $17 million fee growing more imminent by the day, new boss Pascal Jansen will be looking to Wolf to help mitigate some of the lost offensive production that will come from dealing the Uruguayan talisman.
Through the middle or off the wing?
Predominantly a right-winger, Wolf has experience playing both as a No. 10 and off the left, invaluable flexibility given the current state of the New York City roster.
With Rodríguez set to bid farewell to the Big Apple and Maxi Moralez continuing to age, there is a non-zero chance that fans of the Boys in Blue could see the Austrian as a No. 10 in 2025. Going based on Wolf’s intangibles as a creative player with a keen eye for a pass, there’s a lot to like about that prospect.
On the flip side, the Austrian’s streaky form, which was on full display during the second half of 2024, raises questions over just how effective Wolf would be in that role.
John Baney
After a slow start to life in New York City, which saw Wolf fail to grab his first goal contribution for the club until Matchday 9 on April 20 (an assist in the 2-0 win over DC United), the Austrian took to life in May. From May 11th to May 31st, Wolf had three goals and two assists across five games, in what was his most prolific run all season.
As quickly as the Austrian found his shooting boots, the goals and assists started to dry up. July saw Wolf pick up a further two goals and two assists, but following the MLS All-Star Break the goal contributions dried up.
First full season in years
Across a stretch of 16 games to close out the year, where Wolf started all but one contest, the winger managed just one assist. That’s one goal contribution in 1,192 minutes across both the MLS and MLS Cup Playoffs, a dreadful return for any forward, especially one seen as the de-facto starter week-in and week-out off the right flank.
It is worth mentioning, however, that 2024 was the first season in nearly four years where the Austrian played over 20 games, having last eclipsed that mark in 2020/21, when Wolf featured 43 times for German Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach. Injuries have played a massive role in limiting Wolf’s minutes in seasons gone by, as was the concern before his debut campaign with New York City FC.
Now, a season removed from his signing, it’s clear that injuries may not pose as great of a concern as his full-season form in front of goal.
What to expect in 2025?
Did the Austrian simply run out of gas mid-way through the season, and former head coach Nick Cushing decided to stick with him in attack simply out of trust? That’s entirely possible and would be more of an indictment of Cushing’s refusal to incorporate some of the young players like Agustín Ojeda and Julián Fernández than on Wolf as a player.
In that same vein, 11 combined goals and assists is not a terrible return for a forward signed in a free transfer, playing a full season for just the second time in five seasons. It’s how he managed those goal contributions that leaves room for worry.
Just like Alonso Martínez in 2024, goals and assists either game in bunches or didn’t come at all. At least in Martinez’s case, the goals were in greater supply and slightly more spread out across the calendar. Jansen and New York City FC will look to Wolf to emulate that in his own right. If, or rather when, Santi Rodríguez departs for Botafogo, Wolf will be asked to step up his offensive contributions substantially.
A key starter in 2024 with bags of European experience, Jansen will look to the Austrian as a marquee creator in his attacking system, especially if he decides to deploy the 25-year-old centrally as a No 10. Plus, with Maxi Moralez still a member of the First Team squad, his presence could help ease Wolf’s transition into that role, thus paving the way for some of the younger wingers to finally break into the Starting XI.
Is the Austrian capable of this role change? Certainly. Wolf has the creative and technical ability required to flourish in Jansen’s attacking system, either as a winger or as an attacking midfielder. Now with his first full season in the rearview mirror, a Hannes Wolf with MLS experience and significant minutes under his belt should be poised to make a considerable impact in 2025.
If New York City FC wants any chance of making another run in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the Boys in Blue will need Wolf to step up and show the league why he was once pinned as a top young player in Europe.
