MLS market tendencies

 In each transfer market we can say that there is a sports event that influences from where players will come from.


One of the leagues that is most influenced by World Cups, whether it is majors or U 20, is Major League Soccer.

Historically, the American League maintains a clear line in terms of which players arrive and where they come from but there is always a market that is very well influenced by an event that took place recently.

I would like to start with Venezuela and its historic arrival to the U20 World Cup final that took place in July 2017. Before this event, in the MLS, there were only 3 players of Venezuelan nationality who had arrived in the February market and one in June, just before the World Cup.

 The team commanded by Rafael Dudamel had a great effect on the transfer market for the new season 2018. 6 Venezuelan players arrived in February and one more in July, bringing the total from 3 to 9 in just 6 months. Of the total number of players, 5 are under 23 years old. This shows that the tendency of influence of a sporting event adds to the tendency to look for younger talent instead of  experience.

The second example that I will develop is that of Peru and its performance in the World Cup. What "Tigre" Gareca achieved with the Inca team is historic. Despite not having qualified in the group stage they left a very good image of the Peruvian player. And it should be noted that the World Cup was the final straw as the development and classification of the national team to the event that took place in Russia was what influenced the most. There were 2 players in the MLS (Reyna and Yotun), in 2018, they would be 6. Clear influence in the market and the perspective that the teams in the league had with respect to the Peruvian players.

Having the influence of sporting events is something that sometimes can not be avoided since good performances in this type of scenario can decant the decision of the sports director or team owner. It's not a bad thing but it's not a good thing either.

Developing a scouting office leads to follow players from these countries before their national teams achieve something outstanding that brings the focus of attention to them. In addition to having to pay more, since the demand of these players will grow, a better knowledge of the league is achieved and the influence of agents in the market is reduced.