De Paul, Müller, Son: How MLS's new stars will impact their team | OneFootball

By Joseph Lowery

The MLS Secondary Transfer Window is sprinting by.

Undoubtedly, the headliners so far are Rodrigo De Paul to Inter Miami CF and Son Heung-min to LAFC, with both arriving ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But we've got other high-impact players joining the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race and shaping the months ahead, too.

How will these star signings fit with their new team for the rest of this season and beyond? Let’s dive in.

Son Heung-min → LAFC

LAFC aren’t messing around, folks. To sign Son Heung-min, they’ve reportedly set a new record for the most expensive incoming transfer fee in MLS history ($26.5 million), surpassing when Atlanta United acquired Emmanuel Latte Lath this past winter.

The reason? Fresh off putting up 15 non-penalty goal contributions in the English Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2024-25 season, the South Korean international is one of the biggest names in the sport. He’s a Tottenham legend and one of the most consistently dangerous forwards of the modern era.

Now, Son will be hunting for goals in LAFC’s attack. And at age 33, he still has plenty of on-ball threat to manufacture his own shot and create chances for his teammates to thrive in Southern California.

According to FBref, Son finished in the 95th percentile in expected assisted goals per 90 minutes among attacking midfielders and wingers in the Premier League last season, illustrating his elite playmaking. In MLS, there’s a world – many of them, in fact – where he immediately becomes the most dangerous attacker in the league outside of Miami. Opposing defenders, beware.

Now, it will be fascinating to see how head coach Steve Cherundolo uses Son alongside star left winger Denis Bouanga, given that both players have been at their best cutting in from that left side. But, even with one of their stars having to bend slightly to accommodate the other, goals will flow in Los Angeles.

Rodrigo De Paul → Inter Miami CF

I’m not sure I can imagine a better profile of player to join Inter Miami’s stacked roster than a hard-working, gritty and progressive central midfielder like Rodrigo De Paul.

With Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets all naturally inclined to tilt towards the attack in their own unique ways, there’s room for a player to do a chunk of the two-way work, pushing forward to add even more quality in the final third before tracking back to protect Javier Mascherano’s backline. Most often, that box-to-box midfield role has belonged to one of Benjamin Cremaschi or Federico Redondo. But De Paul, with his LaLiga and World Cup-winning experience, brings more to the No. 8 position than those youngsters.

Cremaschi and Redondo are averaging 5.7 recoveries per 90 minutes in MLS this season, according to FBref. De Paul averaged that same number of ball recoveries in the UEFA Champions League with Atlético Madrid last season, while finishing in the 97th percentile among midfielders in that competition for progressive passes and the 88th for progressive carries. The guy can do the dirty work of younger players while adding the finesse on the ball you’d expect from a veteran who’s been a regular starter at the game’s highest levels.

During his Inter Miami debut in the club’s 2-1 win over Atlas in Leagues Cup last week, the Atlético loanee (Miami have an option-to-buy for 2026) ranged back to win the ball in the final third before hooking passes into the attack. He then supplied two assists in their PK win over Club Necaxa, stepping up after Messi got injured, and scored a crucial equalizer vs. Pumas UNAM to help secure advancement.

De Paul won’t totally stop Miami from being exposed in transition at times, but he’s already proving to be an utterly perfect fit for Mascherano’s double pivot.

Thomas Müller → Vancouver Whitecaps FC

The Whitecaps are going after the three trophies on offer for them at this stage of 2025.

Still within reach of the Supporters’ Shield and with an eye on earning silverware from their two knockout tournaments – the Canadian Championship and the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs – Vancouver took a big swing by adding Bayern Munich and German national team legend Thomas Müller. Maybe it was the bitter taste of losing the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Maybe it was transferring Pedro Vite to Pumas in LIGA MX. Or maybe it’s the fact that when you have a chance to sign one of the greatest players of a generation, you take it. Regardless, Müller arrives in Vancouver with a chance to help the club make real history this season.

While the 35-year-old saw his minutes with Bayern decline over the last three seasons (he started just 12 Bundesliga games last year), he still started 12 league matches for Bayern last year. He won’t have any trouble adapting to an attacking midfield or narrow winger role in head coach Jesper Sørensen’s fluid possession system.

Sure, Müller made a name for himself in Germany with his clever off-ball movement that helped him become a lethal scorer and one-touch creator for one of the best teams on the planet. But with still-elite vision and on-ball technique, don’t be fooled into thinking he’ll be anything other than a massive threat to create danger for opposing defenses every time he’s on the ball. Plus, if history paints an accurate picture – though it may not, Father Time is undefeated – Müller won’t have much trouble staying on the field. Despite his age, his injury record has been close to spotless.

With Vite’s exit leaving the ‘Caps without their best healthy final third playmaker, the 2014 World Cup champion's arrival is an even bigger deal than it says on the tin. He raises their ceiling and fills a hole.

Wessam Abou Ali → Columbus Crew

The Crew’s Cucho Hernández void has been filled – on paper, anyway.

By trading for Dániel Gazdag from the Philadelphia Union in the Primary Transfer Window, Columbus’ front office signed an attacker who would help do some of the clever off-ball running and midfield playmaking that the Colombian striker did so effortlessly during his time in Ohio. And by signing Wessam Abou Ali from Egyptian powerhouse Al Ahly, the front office has identified a player who can pin opposing center backs and attack balls in the box like Cucho did. It’s something of a replacement-by-committee approach, but there’s plenty of wisdom in that roster-building path. Cuchos don’t grow on trees, after all.

“He’s a complete striker,” Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall said of Abou Ali. “He occupies the box, but at the same time, he’s also involved in the run of play. He’s good on set pieces. He’s good in the air, has a good right foot, good left foot. He can come in and combine, also threaten in behind.”

While recognizing the 26-year-old won’t playmake on the ball quite like Cucho, that varied attacking skillset, along with a genuine willingness to press and recover the ball, makes Abou Ali such a strong fit to lead the line for Wilfried Nancy.

With 38 goals in 4,200 minutes for Al Ahly, Abou Ali can convert when provided with a high volume of chances. Given everything we’ve seen from Columbus since Nancy arrived, their new No. 9 will get his chances.

Matt Turner → New England Revolution

Signing a goalkeeper as a Designated Player is rare in MLS. But if there was ever a goalkeeper deserving of one such roster spot, it’s Matt Turner.

A former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year who served as one of the most important players on the New England Revolution’s Supporters’ Shield-winning team in 2021, Turner had some of the best shot-stopping seasons in league history during his first spell in New England. According to FBref, he saved 28.3 goals more than expected throughout his first four seasons with the Revs. Now, after a European adventure that saw him feature in the Premier League and earn a move to Lyon in Ligue 1, he arrives back in New England on a year-long loan with a purchase option.

While Turner is only slated to be a DP for the rest of this season before shifting to a TAM contract next year (and, potentially, beyond), he represents a major upgrade in goal. The Revs’ current starter, Aljaž Ivačič, has allowed 3.5 more goals than expected this season, as per FBref.

Of course, New England’s needs run far deeper than just between the posts, as evidenced by their current 11th-place standing in the Eastern Conference. But to get a motivated Turner who’s looking to get back into his starting spot with the US men’s national team ahead of next summer’s World Cup? It’s easy to see New England getting best-in-class performances from their new starter.

Nicolás Fernández Mercau → New York City FC

After moving Santi Rodríguez to Brazilian giants Botafogo for big money last winter, we’ve all been watching and waiting for New York City FC to land their next attacking midfield target. They’ve done exactly that by signing Nicolás Fernández Mercau from Elche in LaLiga.

The 25-year-old Argentine put pen to paper ahead of the Secondary Transfer Window, which allowed him to debut rather early. Fernández Mercau has already played one league game for NYCFC, subbing in during the second half of his new team’s 4-3 win at FC Dallas in MLS play, and started three Leagues Cup matches.

With a clever left foot, quick movement both on and off the ball, and a penchant for dribbling past opposing defenders, the new Designated Player was used by manager Pascal Jansen as an inverted left winger against Dallas. In that position, Fernández Mercau didn’t just show off his dynamism – he showed off his visionary passing, too. His assist for the game-winning goal was a thing of beauty:

That Jansen can now use a lineup that features both Maxi Moralez and Fernández Mercau picking apart opposing defenses should scare the rest of MLS. And that Jansen now has even more positional flexibility in his team should scare them, too. Just days after playing alongside Moralez, Fernández Mercau started as NYCFC's No. 10 with Moralez on the bench in Leagues Cup. His ability to play multiple positions across the attacking midfield line could be a major asset for Jansen & Co.

And when the time does come for the legendary Moralez (now 38) to hang up his boots? Fernández Mercau looks poised to step into that primary playmaker role.

Rwan Cruz → Real Salt Lake

Real Salt Lake have been busy acquiring attacking talent over the last three months: they snagged William Agada from Sporting Kansas City at the tail end of the Primary Transfer Window and just signed Rwan Cruz from Botafogo (they've also just added Victor Olatunji, another striker, from Sparta Prague).

I’m high on Olatunji as a traditional No. 9 who can bully opposing center backs and do plenty of damage off the ball. But Cruz is an especially intriguing player – we’ll focus on him here because he’s joining as a Designated Player. RSL have signed him on loan from Brazil with a reported $5 million purchase option. Not far removed from joining Botafogo for a reported $10 million fee, Cruz represents a real change-of-pace option for Pablo Mastroeni’s frontline.

A former star in Bulgaria with goals in Europa League qualifying and the UEFA Conference League, the 24-year-old is a positionally flexible attacker who will bring more on the ball than any of Salt Lake’s other forward reinforcements. Cruz is comfortable basically anywhere across the attack – including in a two-striker setup, which could see him fit well as a partner to Olatunji in the 4-2-2-2 possession shape that Mastroeni has opted for recently. He can beat defenders on the dribble and drop between the lines to playmake, or he can stretch the field to provide some of the dynamism proved lacking since Andrés Gómez moved to Ligue 1 last summer.

Props to Real Salt Lake for identifying a need and thoroughly addressing it. I’m eager to see how it all plays out on the field.