FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The 2015 MLS Cup champion has yet to be crowned – that’ll happen on Sunday afternoon when Columbus Crew SC host the Portland Timbers in the league’s title game (4 p.m. on ESPN) – but already the New England Revolution’s 2016 roster is beginning to take shape.
Last week the club exercised contract options on 14 players, including 2015 Santander Most Valuable Player Scott Caldwell, leading goal scorer Charlie Davies, assist leader Lee Nguyen, and the center back pairing of Andrew Farrell and Jose Goncalves.
Also returning for 2016 are a trio of players who were already under contract (Juan Agudelo, Zachary Herivaux and Bobby Shuttleworth), as well as re-signed midfielder Daigo Kobayashi, leaving the Revolution with 18 players on their roster heading into December.
On the flip side, six players had their 2016 options declined; most notably veteran defenders Kevin Alston and Jeremy Hall, and second-year midfielder Steve Neumann. Alston and Hall each played just shy of 1,000 minutes this past season, while Neumann saw 144 minutes of action.
While those players are not currently under contract for 2016, it’s not a guarantee that they’re finished with the Revs. General Manager Michael Burns declined to say who continues to draw interest from New England, but he did say that negotiations are ongoing with “at least a couple of players.”
“What I will say, without naming specific players, is that we’re in active conversations with at least a couple of players to try to retain,” Burns said.
“But obviously now that they’re going to be out of contract, they will have other opportunities. While we’d like to have a couple of the players back, they also have to assess and do what they think is best for their careers. We respect that.”
Two players from New England’s 2015 roster will see their current deals conclude at the end of the calendar year, leaving them out of contract ahead of 2016 – Andy Dorman and Jermaine Jones.
Jones, who has featured in 33 games (29 starts) for the Revolution since arriving as a Designated Player last summer following a standout performance at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, was a key piece of New England’s run to MLS Cup last year and has often worn the captain’s armband in Foxborough.
It’s no surprise, then, that Burns confirmed the Revolution’s interest in retaining Jones. But with other suitors calling, as well, Jones’ future ultimately rests in his own hands.
“We’ve had a lot of conversations with Jermaine’s representative,” said Burns. “Jermaine is a player that we’d like to have back. But he’s been pretty open about it – since he’s out of contract, he’s going to have offers throughout the world.
“So he’s going to have to make a decision, ultimately, of what makes most sense for him and his family. But he’s a player that we would certainly like to have back.”
