Position: Midfielder
Age: 27
Key Stat: Won 64 aerial duels in 2024, 2.30 per 90 minutes, which put him in the 99th percentile of MLS midfielders.
Keaton Parks has turned into a model of consistency in the midfield for New York City FC, but in 2025 he'll need to adjust to a new-look midfield and a new set of expectations from his new head coach.
Parks will be in his seventh season with New York City in 2025, and he's coming off two straight generally healthy, effective seasons paired mainly with the now-departed James Sands at the base of the team's midfield.
Who ultimately pairs with Parks in Pascal Jansen's midfield is one of the biggest uncertainties during this NYCFC preseason, but the Parks side of the picture is clear and more certain. The 27-year-old from Plano, Texas will again be expected to do what he's consistently done when healthy over the years for New York City.
That means again being one of the team's key drivers of tempo and forward progress toward goal when in possesssion, it means picking out the occasional line-splitting upfield pass for a teammate, plus also using his size to dominate aerial duels and to score a few headed goals.
The baseline for a Keaton Parks seems clear and generally solid, but the question going into 2025 might be if he's got any more ceiling, or as his new coach has put it in his first statements to the media, if he can reach another level.
