Tomas Totland can provide the spark | Plus, a CITY SC Notebook.

Tomas Totland is ready to turn the page after spending a frustrating 2025 season dealing with hamstring injuries.

Arriving in St. Louis ahead of the 2024 season, Totland played in 34 matches across all competitions and was relied on heavily through the early moments of a tumultuous season. The Norwegian Right Back scored twice in the first two months of the season and became an attacking threat with late-arriving back-post runs and the vision to create with the ball at his feet.

Heading into 2025, Totland should have been a focal point in Olof Mellberg’s more wingback-heavy system. It was a tenure that started well enough, and Totland was a large part of an early unbeaten run that saw CITY SC fail to concede through the first four matches of the season. However, a hamstring injury quickly derailed Totland’s progress, keeping him off the pitch for the entirety of a 11 match winless streak that finished in the sacking of Mellberg after just 15 MLS matches. 

The story of CITY SC’s season can be told through the lens of Totland’s recovery. 

Returning to play, it took time to find comfort in caretaker manager David Critchley’s system, and as St. Louis finally started to find their game, Totland suffered a setback that would keep him on the sidelines for another month and a half. 

“It was definitely mentally taxing,” Totland said from CITY SC’s base camp in Bradenton, Florida. “All you want to do is be out there with the guys.”

It may have been a slog, but Totland worked tirelessly to return to the pitch and finished 2025 on a high note.

He found his way back into the starting lineup during Critchley’s late push, starting on the right flank opposite fellow Norwegian Conrad Wallem. Over those final four matches of the season, Totland only trailed Marcel Hartel in expected assists and key passes, and held his own on the back end even as the squad looked to push forward at the risk of exposing the backline. 

Entering 2026, he has momentum to carry forward, and with a new manager in Yoann Damet, the refreshed philosophy seems to fit Totland’s play like a glove.

“It feels like [Damet] has been here longer than a few weeks,” Totland said. “He’s been very clear in what he wants us to do with the ball; he’s been very clear in his philosophy. And away from training, we’ve all gotten to know him very well. I think we’re all looking forward to playing.”

Totland spent the offseason training hard to get to this point, a workload that saw the training staff pull him out of the first few days of preseason training to manage the load on his recovering hamstring.

“It’s good now,” Totland reassured.”I worked hard over the winter to be fit for the season, so just playing it safe.”

Yoann Damet has preached flexibility in his early days at the helm, keeping his cards close to his chest as he explores the squad’s relationships on the pitch. Totland’s health should make that decision easier, and the return of Conrad Wallem could provide important color to the club’s FB picture. 

In a setup focused on relationism and skill with the ball, Totland can play as a wide player on the right opposite Wallem on the left – if that’s where he eventually lands – and give Damet a look that proved successful for the club last season; and a partnership that Totland is excited to see return.

“It was something that I thought worked last year, and yeah, we’re all just excited to have him back.”

Totland's enthusiasm has been echoed across the roster through the early days of preseason. There's a hunger to prove that the last two seasons aren't representative of their skill level, and hunger to play competitive soccer.

So far, Totland and his teammates are bought in on the new approach, ready to prove that they can deliver playoff soccer to a parched St. Louis fan base.

Week 2 Check-in: Things are changing.

Wallem’s return was finalized by the club on Tuesday, a deal that will keep the Norwegian utility player in St. Louis through the 2028-29 season. Wallem was one of the squad’s better ball progressors during a season where the club was desperate for someone to take on the load, and he returns to an environment that should be fertile ground for players who thrive on the ball.

Wallem’s return is a move Sporting Director Corey Wray needed to push over the line, especially since his arrival comes without the burden of a DP tag. Across multiple managers, he was one of CITY SC’s most versatile and productive players, and in training, he adds a tenacity that his teammates feel is needed.

“Really, really important that we brought him back,” midfielder Chris Durkin reflected. “The more guys we bring in like Conrad that are competitors and take it personal when they don’t do the job to their standard.”

Wray isn't finished retooling following the acquisition of Wallem.

The wheels are in motion for the addition of former LAFC CB Mamadou Mbacke Fall from Barcelona, should go a long way toward bolstering. In both the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Mbacke was one of the most impactful CBs in MLS as one of the youngest starting defenders in the league.

His play turned into loan moves to Villarreal and Barcelona, but a lack of first-team minutes fat Barça sees the Senegalese midfielder looking for a move that can help build his national team resume. Throughout the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Mbacke was third and fourth in goals added per 96 minutes among all CBs, trailing Andreu Fontas, Walker Zimmerman, and Bill Tuiloma.

In La Liga Segunda, he ranked in the top percentile for both interceptions and chances created.

He joins fellow Senegalese CB Fallou Fall in looking to MLS as a proving ground. The young Senegalese duo can play to either side of Timo Baumgartl, who was also a top 10 CB in goals added per 96 minutes last season, and could give Damet one of the more creative back three pairings in MLS. 

Unfortunately, the back three dream may have to wait, with F. Fall shut down for the remainder of preseason following a leg injury he picked up ahead of departing for Florida this week. Damet said that they are uncertain about his recovery timeline, wouldn’t expect him to be ready for opening day, but does not anticipate Fall missing significant time through the early days of the season. 

More bad news on the injury front, Tomáš Ostrák was also shut down for the remainder of the preseason.

Fortunately, Totland, Cedric Teuchert, and Kyle Hiebert have returned to training, but the early injuries add some additional pressure to Corey Wray’s first preseason roster build in St. Louis. 

Additional pressure may come from the rumored interest in João Klauss from the LA Galaxy. The Galaxy have offered $2 million in an intraleague transfer that would make Klauss the Galaxy’s third DP, with Riqui Puig set to miss the 2026 season. 

If Klauss departs, it would leave a big hole at the top of the lineup, especially as Klauss was finally eligible to be bought down from his DP status following CITY SC picking up his option this winter. Of course, this isn’t the first time Klauss has been rumored to be on the move, with sources close to Liga MX’s Club León reporting that a deal was close last summer… but Klauss is in a different place than he was at that point last season.

The Brazilian finished 2025 on a tear and was CITY SC’s most impactful player over the back half of the season. Klauss was one of just two players with a g+ index over 2.0 last season, but the player in front of him, Simon Becher, might give Wray some additional confidence in signing off on the deal. Tom Bogert has reported that this deal has been evolving over the winter, and if the 29-year-old was leaning towards not re-signing in St. Louis, then $2 million additional GAM is good value for a player who is unlikely to fetch a higher fee next summer. 

It’s a tough proposition.

Klauss had not been an efficient finisher over the past two seasons, but his skill set – his hold-up play and vision – won’t be easily replaced with the players currently on the roster. A trio of Becher, Teuchert, and Brendan McSorely can work, but it’s a gamble that Damet’s attacking approach won’t need a true target striker in the mould of Klauss. Perhaps the attack won’t be as reliant on a player who can drag CBs out of position with his physical play, perhaps Becher will have better finishing luck, and perhaps McSorely will be able to replicate his 2025 success with full-time minutes. 

Among all MLS attackers, McSorely ranked 6th in goals added per 96 minutes, 10th in xG per 96 minutes, and 14th in expected goal contributions per 96 minutes with 0.88. It’s a small sample size at 328 minutes. In fact, all of CITY SC’s most effective attackers per 96 minutes played less than 1500 minutes last season. McSorely’s 0.68 average xG led Becher and Mykhi Joyner with 0.57 and 0.43 xG respectively. Klauss was the only attacker with over 2000 minutes last season, also averaging 0.43 expected goals per 96 minutes.

Klauss’s departure leaves uncertainty without a proven replacement. If a healthy Cedric Teuchert is the player who averaged 1.04 goal contributions per 96 minutes across 840 minutes of MLS play in 2024, then the departure of Klauss simply opens minutes for the club’s younger contributors… but it’ll take a leap of faith. 

Still, if CITY SC can bolster with an open U22/DP slot and add some help in the wide areas, then it’s a roster with more upside compared to the 2025 season, especially if the club’s young contributors continue to develop. 

MLS announced its key transaction dates this week, announcing that this year's roster compliance date is February 20th and that the summer transfer window will be extended to August 3rd this season. MLS has also removed the cap on the number of cash trades and intraleague loans clubs can complete in a given season.

More positive adjustments to a rule that has been a general boon for the league.