Dec 31 Bruce Arena Brings In Five Familiar Players To San Jose For 2025 | OneFootball

Similar to what I wrote about in a previous article about the New England Revolution, Bruce Arena is trying to build out his roster for the San Jose Earthquakes. Also ironically enough, Arena is attempting to do that with many former New England players that he brought into the fold in the northeast U.S.

The Quakes sent $500k in GAM and an international roster spot to the New England Revolution for the player trio of; Dave Romney, Mark Anthony Kaye, and Ian Harkes. In a separate trade, the Quakes also sent $150k in GAM to New England for goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. And lastly, the club signed former Revs fullback Nick Lima via free agency.

The 31 year old Romney joins San Jose after a 2024 campaign in which he played 35 games and logged almost 3,000 minutes. Romney immediately steps into the Quakes depth chart as the best centerback for the club. The other players that are potential starts for Arena in 2025 are Mark Anthony Kaye and Nick Lima. The 30 year old Kaye played in 30 games last season for New England with 1 goal scored. The former Supporters Shield winner played some of the best minutes of his career while playing under Bruce Arena in New England. Nick Lima not only joins another Bruce Arena roster, but he re-joins the club where he started his professional career. The 30 year old former U.S. international right-back has over 240 career games under his belt between San Jose, New England, and Austin. He could see a lot of minutes in a mixed Quakes fullback room right now.

The final two players to cover here are central midfielder Ian Harkes and goalkeeper Earl Edwards Jr. The 29 year old Harkes played in 35 games for the Revs last season totalling 2 goal contributions in that time. Edwards is a 32 year old keeper who made 3 appearances for the Revs in 2024. The additions of these five players does not make this team world beaters or one that I can even confidently put into the playoffs. But these additions do raise the floor for this team immensely.