Preseason preparations have officially begun, so it’s a perfect time to catch up on the current state of the New York City FC squad.
The team announced the list of players traveling for preseason when they all flew down to Florida to open camp. The preseason roster includes 35 players but five are unsigned invitees, while a few others under contract are not with the team. By our count, the New York City FC roster stands at 30 players signed to First Team contracts for 2026 who aren’t currently out on loan or about to leave via transfer. Meaning, we’re not including Jovan Mijatović, James Sands, or Mitja IleniÄŤ, but we are including Talles Magno.
We include one additional player, midfielder Peter Molinari, who is signed to a contract with NYCFC II for 2026 but who had moments with the First Team in 2025, and whose contract stipulates that he becomes a Homegrown player on the First Team for the 2027 season.
We color-coded each member of the 31-player squad currently available to Pascal Jansen based on the level of past contribution a player made at MLS level. Mainly this was done to illustrate that there’s a solid Starting XI core of players still in place, but with question marks related to inexperience, injuries, or lack of options sprinkled across areas of the roster.
You’ll notice we listed four injured players off on their own, and that’s because it’s unclear when each will return to action for NYCFC.
AndrĂ©s Perea suffered a broken leg in November but could realistically return not long into the 2026 regular season, while Alonso MartĂnez faces a 9-12 month recovery given he needed surgery to repair the ACL in his knee.
Malachi Jones is still trying to get past the devastating broken leg he suffered in the summer of 2024, which required a second surgery in March 2025, and it’s unclear how close to fitness he is, or if he’d be ready to contribute to the MLS squad right away after such a long injury layoff.
Keaton Parks carries an injury question mark heading into 2026 after missing the final 25 matches of the 2025 campaign, again sidelined by blood flow issues in his leg. If Parks is ready to play again and back to fitness and health, NYCFC would be adding a Top Tier MLS player to their midfield.
Below, let’s go position by position to sum up the state of things inside the squad, at least as of this writing. The accuracy of this depth chart is subject to any changes made by new Sporting Director Todd Dunivant, be they comings or goings, and is only capturing a snapshot in time here at the very beginning of the 2026 season.
Forwards (6)
Seymour Reid; Hannes Wolf; AgustĂn Ojeda; Talles Magno; Julián Fernández; Zidane Yañez
There are options aplenty to play out wide in the attack, but the opposite is true at center-forward, where Alonso MartĂnez’s injury and the departures of both Mijatović and Mounsef Bakrar have thinned out the ranks.
Hannes Wolf, Nico Fernández Mercau, AgustĂn Ojeda, and Julián Fernández all remain in the mix to start on the left or right. Is Talles Magno returning, and will now be an option on the left wing, or at the No 9? Maybe, maybe not, but he’s at least a part of this conversation until moved elsewhere by NYCFC, given that he reported to preseason once his loan to Corinthians expired at the start of the year.
Wolf has two solid MLS seasons under his belt, while Ojeda and Julián Fernández have yet to break out and declare that they’re good enough to be out-and-out starters for a full season.
Nico is not only the team’s highest-paid player but he’s also turned into the attacking version of a Swiss Army knife, in that he could conceivably start as a right-winger, an attacking midfielder, or as a center-forward. He’s the team’s most important player in attack, but he’s never been a prolific goal-scorer.
Who will ultimately be asked to offset the goals lost with Alonso MartĂnez expected to miss most of this upcoming season as he recovers from that ACL injury? Seymour Reid scored 14 times in all competitions between MLS Next Pro and MLS last season, and he’s the last clear-cut striker standing — but he’ll still be 17 when the season starts and he’s only made 15 appearances and played 167 minutes at MLS level.
The striker portion of the depth chart is extraordinarily light on professional experience playing as a striker, to the point where we can’t resist the temptation to list Talles Magno as a possible option even despite the disaster class that was his time spent as the presumed heir to the Taty Castlellanos striker throne during the first half of the 2023 season.
Midfielders (8)
Nico Fernández Mercau; Maxi Moralez; Aiden O’Neill; Jonny Shore; Máximo Carrizo; Cooper Flax; Jacob Arroyave; Peter Molinari
This is arguably the deepest part of the squad for New York City, though the level of depth is dependent on when and if Parks and Perea return from their respective injuries, which might be a major “if” in the case of Parks in particular. Even while those two recuperating players are out, Aiden O’Neill and Jonny Shore on paper could make a solid pairing as starters at the base of the midfield.
It hurts to lose the safety blanket of having the ultra-versatile Justin Haak around to fill in as a defensive midfielder when needed, and now, it might fall on other NYCFC Academy players to step up and contribute minutes in the midfield across the long season with three competitions to juggle. Though Pascal Jansen also tried playing left-back Kevin O’Toole as a central defensive midfielder, so there might be extra midfield depth hidden elsewhere on the roster.
The central attacking midfield role is more clear and settled heading into the new season since Maxi Moralez is officially back for his 10th season in MLS. Moralez is once more the presumptive starter at the No 10, freeing Nico up to possibly play as a center-forward, to pop out to the right-wing, or to maybe play alongside Moralez centrally in the midfield.
Máximo Carrizo debuted and made six appearances for New York City FC in 2025, playing 20 club matches total when factoring in a season with NYCFC II in which he recorded three goals and four assists in MLS Next Pro. He might be ready for a Shore-sized leap in MLS contributions in 2026, given he could fill in at the No 10 or play as a wide attacker on the right.
Players like Jacob Arroyave and Peter Molinari have First Team contracts but have yet to break in at MLS level. The backups might be young and inexperienced, but if Parks and Perea both return and as the best versions of themselves, Jansen will have many quality, MLS-proven midfield options to choose from.
Defenders (9)
Thiago Martins; Raul Gustavo; Tayvon Gray; Kevin O’Toole; Strahinja Tanasijević; Nico Cavallo; Drew Baiera; Max Murray; Kamran Acito
The loss of Justin Haak, who enjoyed one of the strongest years of any defender in MLS last season, will be felt even if the club has a ready-made replacement at left-center-back in Raul Gustavo. The 26-year-old Brazilian is only 10 appearances into his NYCFC career, and bounced between playing as a true center-back and sometimes as a left-back, so it’s not a given that it will be all smooth sailing if he becomes an out-and-out central defensive partner with Thiago Martins.
As for Thiago Martins, he’ll need to remain one of the best center-backs in MLS for another season to avoid any major drop-offs in goal prevention and building out from the back without Haak. The depth behind the two Brazilians NYCFC will most rely on at center-back is a mixed bag. There’s Strahinja Tanasijević, an oft-whistled, physical defender who experienced ups and downs in his small doses of playing time over his time with NYCFC.
Then there’s a First Round MLS SuperDraft pick from 2025 in Max Murray who played 21 matches and nearly 2,000 minutes with NYCFC II last season but who is still waiting to make his MLS debut. The club also added Homegrown signing Kamran Acito to the roster this winter, and there’s always the possibility that Jansen could use a player like Tayvon Gray at center-back if necessary.
Gray at right-back and Kevin O’Toole at left-back seem clear-cut starters, and there are options behind each player even as Mitja IleniÄŤ is set to depart for a new team.
Andrew Leigh
New York City still has Homegrown fullback Drew Baiera, who will soon turn 19 and who now has 54 games of experience with NYCFC II over three seasons playing at MLS Next Pro level. Baiera made one super-brief appearance for New York City FC proper last season during the US Open Cup loss at Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, but could be ready for his MLS breakthrough in 2026.
Left-back seems settled and primarily O’Toole’s spot, but with Nico Cavallo back for a second season and with Raul Gustavo able to fill in on the left if needed. The defense looks decently settled even without Haak, though with questions and without much experience on hand below the first layer of starter-caliber players.
Goalkeepers (4)
Matt Freese; Tomás Romero; Greg Ranjitsingh; Mac Learned
In Matt Freese they’ve got a Top 3 goalkeeper in the league who is the current starter for the United States men’s national team and who is locked into a new long-term contract, settled and expected to help give New York City a leg up on many of its MLS competitors. Tomás Romero proved to be a competent fill-in for Freese during Freese’s time away with the USMNT and, briefly, out injured in 2025, and Romero enters his third season with the club looking like a good fallback option should Freese miss any time.
The club still also has elder statesmen of the goalkeeper union, 32-year-old Greg Ranjitsingh, and just added NYCFC II’s Mac Learned on a First Team deal to offset the departure of former Homegrown signing Alex Rando.
Goalkeeper is the one position at New York City that looks to be fully settled.
We look good everywhere but at striker, and if Keaton and Pepe come back in good shape we’re looking flat-out loaded except for the point of the spear. Is it possible for Seymour to step up? He certainly has the ability. I really, really like what we saw from him, and I can see him developing into a really formidable center-forward. But is he ready now?One thing we definitely can’t do is try Talles Magno there again. No, no, no.
If they’re ever going to spend some real dollars, pls—make it a ‘real #9’ striker or two. Nico was at his most lethal when he had a true #10 alongside him with Maxi. This team simply doesn’t have a dedicated, like-for-like replacement for Alonzo. That was already a prob even when he was healthy, given national team call-ups and injuries.kinda expected them to pick up Uhre from Philly (just given some successful cases of picking up good ones i.e) Freeze and/or Perea from the Union in the past)…