4 Takeaways from Rafael Navarro's introductory press conference | Looking ahead to Vancouver.

It’s officially a new era in St. Louis. The transfer window slammed shut Wednesday night, and when the dust cleared, CITY SC had spent $18+ million on new DPs and added some potentially important depth. The new additions aren’t all sure things. While Corey Wray was given carte blanche to bring in his ideal DP striker, the additions underneath are more gambles than proven depth to reinforce a contender. That being said, if the gamble on a player like Damion Downs pays off, then CITY SC will reap the benefits of a level of scoring depth higher than even the trio of Nico Gioacchini, Joao Klauss, and Sam Adeniran in year one, certainly a more outwardly talented trio in Becher, Navarro, and Downs. 

Yoann Damet will take this newly assembled group out west on a near week-long trip to Cascadia, some bonding that seems to come at the perfect time, but a tough set of matchups with players just beginning to integrate ahead of the final third of the season. A 13 match unbeaten streak hangs in the balance, but first, let’s dive into what Corey Wray had to say this week.

The rollercoaster transfer window.

Corey Wray wasn’t coy when he sat down with the media for the first time since introducing Carlo Holse a little over a month ago. In totality, St. Louis is down one of MLS’s most impactful players this season in Marcel Hartel, but the hope is that the addition of Navarro and striker depth, combined with the integration of Carlo Holse in the midfield, will eventually have the totality of CITY SC at a higher level than earlier this summer. It’s important to lay out that point because the optimism of how Wray finished the window has to be viewed in the overall ledger of losing a player who CITY SC would have loved to hold on to through this initial roster build. Instead, his departure led to further reinvestment and a pivot to younger contributors.

Wray admitted that there was always a consideration of potentially adding another DP even before it was clear that Hartel was leaving – something like the Albert Rusnak scenario in Seattle where he was bought out and restructured; Hartel and Bürki were both around that pay scale, also tracks with Wray’s previous comments – but once the Hartel situation had advanced past a need to return home to Germany, it became imperative to push a DP striker deal over the line. 

“These conversations are going on all of the time.” Wray said, “It’s about juggling the timings and making decisions in that moment that give you at least a little bit of clarity on the next steps. Certainly at moments like this there is a higher degree of risk when you do lose a player. In an ideal world, someone departs, and someone enters at the exact same time; it does not always work like that in our business.”

So, Wray was able to pivot, to bounce from that low, to picking up Alex Mǎțan, to Löwen’s trade talks, to finalizing the duo of Navarro and Downs along with the handful of bets on Tahir Reid-Brown, Zach Zengue, and deadline day acquisition Charles-Emile Brunet. The acquisitions of Downs, Zengue, and Brunet all come as loans with options to buy as well, smart business for players who will need some time to develop in the system.

There’s some trust needed in the vision to be completely optimistic at the end of this window, but that high-profile departures were ultimately met with increased investment is a good sign. 

The idea that facilitating Hartel and Löwen’s exits on their terms didn’t go over well with the fanbase, but that is a factor that will ultimately play well with players and their agents when St. Louis has to go back to the market in the future. 

There are still questions; calls for Mykhi Joyner were shut down, and Fallou Fall remains with the group, which should indicate that both are in the plans, but the path towards playing time seems harder at the end of the window for either player. Is it as simple as Damet seeing both as projects and wanting to work with them individually throughout the season to build them up? That progress has to outpace how they’d grow with real playing time, and that is certainly a leap of faith.

Damet’s two-striker dream.

The addition of Downs on top of Navarro lends credence to something Damet has hinted at throughout the season; he would like to have a second striker in his toolbox. In Navarro, Damet inherits a player who doesn’t just have the goal-scoring pedigree but also the passing and possession numbers that showcase an ability to drop back into the midfield while Simon Becher or Damion Downs run off his shoulder and stretch the lines. 

It’s a wrinkle that Damet hasn’t been able to exhibit outside of a few instances with Sergio Córdova paired to the right of Simon Becher and then in Los Angeles against the Galaxy when Hartel played in the top line next to Becher. 

It’s one step closer to Damet’s total football ideals, all while Navarro's defensive acumen adds more doggedness to the top of the formation. 

On Downs, Wray and Damet also mentioned his profile differs from that of Becher and Navarro, who are much more similar. Downs can be a towering presence to stretch the lines, but it’s going to take some work to coax that scoring streak back out of him after a rough season abroad. 

“We're there for every player to help them get better every single day.” Damet said, “That's part of our mission as a staff, as a club, as with every single player that we have with us; our work is to make them better every single day. So, for him, he comes in with the past few seasons, some good, some less good, and now our mission is to make him better every single day. Give him confidence. Give him an understanding of what we want to do and get the best out of him. The same way we've been doing now for eight months with the rest of the group.”

As for what to expect out of Navarro, that message was simple.

“Brazilians are always happy; happiness is our thing. [...] I’ll make this team happy and score a lot of goals."

Room to evolve further.

Corey Wray reiterated that these moves are about establishing the baseline this season, accelerated a bit with the run of form and the opportunities to invest as a player like Navarro became available despite talks breaking down earlier this winter. 

Wray seems ultra-aware that teams will adjust to the current looks that have resulted in a 13 match unbeaten streak across all competitions. That’s a big reason why so much time was spent bringing in different profiles and perhaps competition to the current depth options. If Joyner, Perez, and Tyson Pearce are projects at the 10, 6, and wingback respectively, then the additions of Zach Zengue (22), Charles-Emile Brunet (22), and Tahir Reid-Brown (20) are both plays for the future – strengthening the gap between current contributors and players coming out of the Academy – and additional young competition for players the club still sees in the future evolution of CITY SC soccer.

“We will continue to assess the squad. We’ll see how it works together.” Wray said, “We’ll evaluate weaknesses; we will come up with more game plans against teams that continue to switch how they play against us. I will always take it to the next level.” 

St. Louis should still have room under the cap, especially after moving on from Teuchert and Löwen (around $1.4 million above the max salary budget charge) and only replacing the pair with Damion Downs above the $803,125 max charge taking the total TAM player count to Ostrák, Wallem, and Downs where Ostrák will most likely not be a TAM player even if his option is picked up solely based on the escalating max charge. So, room to maneuver nonetheless, as much as questions remain on if the club re-signs Sangbin as the only remaining player out of contract without an option at the end of the year.

That’s one to keep an eye on with more competition over this final stretch of the season. 

What is success in 2026?

Both Damet and Wray were adamant that they always saw themselves as becoming a competitive team this season. While Wray did admit he sees this group as ahead of schedule, they aren’t taking this initial success for granted.

“There will be ebbs and flows, high points and low points,” Wray said, “my goals for this team have not changed.”

Now is where the rubber meets the road. St. Louis has done well as the underdog, punching above their weight and looking confident doing so, but now Damet has more tools in his toolbox, and heightened expectations are only natural. 

Following the draw to Dallas, CITY SC sit in 6th but control their own destiny for a home playoff spot, level on points with both Dallas and SJ. There are also just 3 matches left against teams ahead of them in the table: a double against Vancouver and a trip to Houston on decision day; it’s all 6 pointers to create separation around the playoff bubble outside of that, with MNUFC and San Diego looking pretty good per the expected numbers lately. That being said, it’s nearly impossible to predict how St. Louis’s numbers will look by that point, how Becher and Navarro may fit together, and how the rotation in the attack will change the general dynamic. 

Finally, CITY SC could definitely add this winter with two open U22 spots following the graduation of Sangbin, potentially three if Fallou Fall is moved on – certainly not a given – but there’s also the fact that roster rules could change as early as next summer with the calendar shift; U22 signings might not have the same value going forward. 

Onto Vancouver:

The two matches against Vancouver will be fascinating given the hype of CITY SC adding Navarro and others at the deadline; that hype might not be apparent on the trip to Vancouver, but the return trip next month has the potential to be explosive. CITY SC have felt their lack of depth over the last three matches, but it’s probably unfair to expect a start from Navarro or even a 45+ minute cameo given his one day of training with the group before departing for Vancouver, even less expectations for Downs and Brunet. 

Still, Simon Becher is quite literally the most in-form striker in the league right now, and Damet sounded excited for the challenge of Vancouver – a club he called “in my opinion, the best team in the league.” 

Vancouver are coming off a 1-1 draw to Montréal in the first leg of the Canadian Champions semi-final on Wednesday, and will miss Édier Ocampo and Ralph Priso as a result. That’s a boost for St. Louis as the pair have stirred the drink out of the backline this season – both top 5 in g+ among Whitecaps players. 

Vancouver have also led the league in possession won in the attacking third, if St. Louis are to upset a side that beat Dallas 5-0 in their last MLS match at BC Place then they’ll have to take care of the ball in their buildup and they’ll need a bounce back game from Roman Bürki who has been more or less an average shotstopper over the last 8 matches. 

Something to key in on is the budding relationship between Carlo Holse and Conrad Wallem on the right side. The pair were practicing some key movements ahead of Thursday’s training and will need to build chemistry if Holse is to start on that right-hand side going forward.

“He is improving for sure.” Wallem said on their shared dynamic, “He has come into games where it's a little bit chaotic every time because he comes into the games late. He came into the games late now, and then we were most often defending a lead, and then the picture is a little bit different. So, we've been training. We're working in training as well, and it's a good relationship, and I think it will be very good in the future. We can also communicate in our language, so it also makes it a little bit easier for sure.”

A return to the US Open Cup:

More big news this week as MLS announced that all 27 US-based clubs will return to the US Open Cup going forward. That is a great thing for the sport and a great thing for clubs, as the historic tournament will also get rid of roster regulations that limit certain players from being included on USOC rosters. It’s a benefit of more competitions and expanding rosters for said competitions is that young players can have more opportunities that wouldn’t otherwise be there. If a club plays in all of the Champions Cup, US Open Cup, and whatever the Leagues Cup winds up looking like next season, then more players can see potentially important playing time. It's something that St. Louis might have loved to have this season, and something that put Charles-Emile Brunet high on their radar after Nashville gave Brunet and other Huntsville players important minutes in the League Cup, opting to rotate as they chase the Supporters’ Shield. 

Hypothetically, current rules would have kept St. Louis out of the USOC given their spot in the Supporters’ Shield standings; now they’ll be guaranteed a spot. A great thing after the last two winners – LAFC and Nashville – weren’t able to defend their titles in the last two iterations of the Cup.