"Lucas has, in a lot of ways, overperformed over the last two seasons,” he said. The negotiation, Bezbatchenko said, is to reflect Zelarayan’s actual worth for what he has accomplished. Zelarayan is still under contract for next season. When technical director Pat Onstad was introduced as general manager with the Houston Dynamo, he said the Crew was in the middle of negotiating a contract extension with Zelarayan.īezbatchenko said he wants all three deals to get done, but there was nothing official yet. Goalkeeper Eloy Room and Valenzuela said at the end of the season that they were out of contract and wished to stay with the club. The Crew are currently in contract negotiations for three of those core members, though Bezbatchenko left it open-ended as to whether or not left back Milton Valenzuela is a long-term fit for the club. Updates on contracts for Zelarayan, Room, Valenzuela “And then others, that would be a position that we absolutely will explore and be looking for potentially a new player or two.” "Some of that (production at winger) will come from players that are just a little bit better than they were last year that are on our roster,” Bezbatchenko said.
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However, he did reiterate coach Caleb Porter’s emphasis on adding one or two wingers this offseason to a core group that will remain in tact.īezbatchenko also cited outside back as an area to improve, noting how impactful French right back Steven Moreira was once he joined the club midseason, getting three assists in seven games.
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The Crew is expected to announce final roster decisions by next week before Thanksgiving. “We're all looking at ourselves, myself included as the leader of this organization, to be better with a player that you do bring in.”īezbatchenko didn’t specify which players would not be back for the 2022 season. "I think it's important to address that in a lot of ways we didn't see the fruits of our labor for the players that we did bring in last year,” Bezbatchenko said. He said being able to travel and scout international players in person this year should help significantly.