Pascal Jansen met with the media from New York City FC preseason camp in Austin, Texas, and discussed the state of his squad in the wake of the very public, very dramatic collapse of the team's agreement to buy striker Moussa Sylla from FC Schalke 04 in Germany.
When asked to comment on what went wrong with the Sylla transfer, Jansen didn't shed much light on New York City FC's side of things, saying "Nothing special happened. We were trying to get to a deal and the deal fell through. Now we have to switch gears and try to find a new No 9, and that's what our focus is heading towards at the moment."
Reports in Germany circulated throughout the day on February 2 that Sylla's move to NYCFC, reported as a "done deal" on January 25, was on death's door because New York City had issues with Sylla's medical examination. Schalke today confirmed that Sylla's move to New York was off, with the German club lambasting NYCFC publicly, saying they were "irritated" by NYCFC's behavior given that "the contracts were not only negotiated, but already signed."
When asked if he or the club wanted to respond to Schalke's criticisms, Jansen passed on the chance and only said, "Those are the words from Germany and from Schalke in this particular situation. So whatever they've said is for their account. We've said what we wanted to say and that's what I'm going to stick to as well."
Though to slightly disagree with the NYCFC Head Coach, his club has said nothing publicly about the failed Sylla transfer – Hudson River Blue reached out to New York City FC for comment on or response to the Schalke statement, but received no reply.
Andrew Leigh
Familiar face emerges as striker option
Pascal Jansen says his team is still looking for a new striker with Alonso Martínez sidelined with an injured ACL, but the coach also hinted that he's willing to try Talles Magno at center-forward, a revelation that might bring back some rough memories of the struggle that was the 2023 New York City season.
Talles was the presumptive starter at striker entering that 2023 season but struggled in the role and eventually got replaced there by Mounsef Bakrar at midseason. Now that he's returned from his stint in Brazil on loan to SC Corinthians Paulista, Pascal Jansen is welcoming Talles back and giving him a first look at the No 9 while surrounded by a very different supporting cast of attacking players.
"We're very happy that Talles has returned to NYCFC. He's shown good character. He's part of the group and knows the club, of course. He's a good character, a good person, working very hard in order to establish a good footprint within the team," said Jansen of his early impressions of Talles Magno.
Most interestingly, Jansen admitted he deployed Talles up top against Austin FC in NYCFC's 2-0 friendly win on February 1, a move that paid some dividends, with the 23-year-old Brazilian picking up an assist on Agustín Ojeda's goal to make it 2-0 New York City shortly before halftime.
“He played as a number 9 against Austin and did a very good job. He was involved with the goals that we scored, and he's a versatile player. He can play as a number 9. He can play as a left winger as well. Those type of profiles are always very welcome in our squad, because that's part of our philosophy anyway, to have players play in multiple positions. His impression has been very positive so far."
Word of the Preseason: Versatility
Striker remains unsettled, but one area of need did get addressed with Kai Trewin officially joining New York City FC. Pascal Jansen was quick to once again praise a player for a trait he openly values, highlighting Trewin's versatility given that the Australian can function as a center-back or as a defensive midfielder.
Jansen said of Trewin, "He can play in a back two, two center-backs, three center-backs. He can play as a single pivot, he can play as a double-pivot. That is one of the things that caught our eye, and we took a look into his profile a little bit, and the fit is there. So hopefully he can join us and show his qualities very soon."
Trewin is still awaiting his necessary work visas to travel to preseason and link up with his new New York City FC teammates, with Jansen saying "Hopefully we can see him soon in Coachella and he can join the training sessions and get to know other guys."
While Trewin is away, Jansen appears to be busy developing even more versatility within his squad in the form of another player who can now fill in as a defensive midfielder: Kevin O'Toole, the team's usual starting left-back.
O'Toole confirmed he lined up in the midfield next to Keaton Parks in a double-pivot in the win against Austin. The central midfield isn't totally new to O'Toole, as it was a role O'Toole filled a few times late during the 2025 season, most notably in the MLS Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference Semifinal win over Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park.
"I really enjoy that position. Being on the ball and connecting play and finding myself in different positions up the field. It's an exciting challenge for me and one that I might be asked to play a bit more this season," said O'Toole while citing week-to-week injuries or tactical needs as possibly leading to 2026 minutes in the middle of the pitch.
Justin Haak might not be easy to replace, but Kai Trewin and potential midfielder Kevin O'Toole now can play a part in that, and the team also has newish center-backs like 2025 draft pick Max Murray and 2026 Homegrown signing Kamran Acito to evaluate this preseason.
Ample time for other signings
Thanks to MLS's calendar, New York City has plenty of time left in their transfer window to pursue new striker options post-Moussa Sylla. The MLS Primary Transfer Window won't close until March 26, and Pascal Jansen addressed how the team will approach finding their new targets.
"We look at quality first and in this case also the existing roster: What does the team need in order to move forward? The precision, and working thoroughly in order to get the right players in, that is the most important process that we focus on," said Jansen.
When discussing the state of the squad, O'Toole mentioned the fact that key players from the 2025 team left (Haak) or remain out with longer-term injuries (Martínez, Andrés Perea) heading into 2026.
The defender said "From the guys that we had last year, the group has felt a bit thinner in this preseason, but we've had a lot of new guys step in and do exceptionally well in the preseason, who have shown their qualities. Whether it's Homegrown guys, draft picks, I think there's a lot of talent in this group and a lot of opportunity, as well."
With transfers still a possibility through Matchday 5 of New York City's 2026 season, it remains to be seen if the roster's thinness gets solved by adding unsigned players already in preseason camp with the team, or if Todd Dunivant identifies a new external solution or solutions.
