Where’s Talles Magno?

It was a surprise when Talles Magno returned to New York City FC at the start of preseason. Once considered one of the brightest prospects in Major League Soccer, the Designated Player spent the past 17 months in Brazil on loan to Corinthians after some high-profile struggles at New York City. But now he’s back with the club: Talles Magno was named to the 2026 preseason roster, took the #11 jersey, and played as a No 9 for part of the 2-0 friendly win over Austin FC last week.

But the 23-year-old didn’t appear in the club’s 1-1 draw with LAFC yesterday at the 2026 Coachella Valley Invitational despite the team’s desperate need of a striker. And then sharp-eyed Hudson River Blue contributor John Baney noted that there was no “Talles” among the club’s player trackers in New York City’s most recent batch of training photos.

This could be a whole lot of nothing: Jonny Shore’s tracker is also missing from the photo above, but we understand that’s because the midfielder is recovering from a minor injury. Maybe Talles Magno simply took a knock and is resting.

Or, it could be the latest episode in what HRB contributor Mark Radigan calls “The Talles Magno Experience.” Are the winger and the club exploring other options? We spy with our little eye a tracker for Sebastiano Musu, the NYCFC II attacker who made a strong impression in his MLS debut last year, but who didn’t break into the First Team squad —and who wasn’t named to the original preseason roster.

For what it’s worth, Musu didn’t have a tracker in the photo bellow, which the club published on January 18. But Talles Magno’s tracker is included.

Is Musu filling a spot that was suddenly vacated? Or is Musu just getting a longer look from Head Coach Pascal Jansen in a development completely unrelated to Talles Magno? We might know more on Wednesday, when New York City play Sporting Kansas City in the first-ever David Lee Derby. That friendly will get underway at 4:30 pm ET, and will be streamed live on NYCFC’s YouTube channel.

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