The New England Revolution seem to be heavily linked with an imminent move of Icelandic winger Arnór Traustason from Malmö FF. From the insider information that I have compiled, I believe this to be very true. The Revs have been linked with Traustason since early February. This transfer is a bigtime upgrade in the left side of the attack. Arnór is a mainstay with the Iceland Men's National Team since 2015 after six years with the youth level national teams.
The Iceland national is a great goal-scoring threat and an amazing passer. He has five goals in 36 appearances for the national team. 27 goals across 180 matches in league and European championship play. His consistent passing and crossing ability will only help the team to achieve this year. In 180 matches, Arnór also boasts 36 assists. In most recent games with Malmo, Traustason has managed to be accurate with his passes over 80 percent of the time. For an attacker, that is a great stat, which means he gets into good areas to be able to make passes to open players. Adam Buksa and Gustavo Bou alike have been waiting for another player who can rival Carles Gil's ability to do that.
The Revolution now have a deep attacking core once they add Traustason to the mix. With Teal Bunbury, Emmanuel Boateng on the left wing position, Arnor will need to convince the team he deserves the starting position, which is only good for bringing up everyone's level of play. Across the main attacking positions, we have depth of at least 2, if not three players for each position. LW
Bunbury
Boateng
Traustason
RW
Gil
Buchanan
ST/CF
Buksa
Bou
Rennicks
Kizza
With this level of attacking prowess, it looks likely that we're set once Traustason arrives. Arnór will provide the push that both Bunbury and Boateng need to raise their levels of play. As well, it allows a player like Bunbury to shift positions, if Gil or one of the strikers ends up injured. It's not often for a team like the Revolution to see a roster not filled out and still feel comfortable with the outcome. Let's head into the summer transfer window and see who isn't up to par.
The positive part of having depth is we can afford to let go of the dead weight in the summer. And with the new U-22 Initiative rules, if one of those players sold is a Designated Player, we can use that room to make some young, fresh signings for good money. Our current one U-22 spot climbs up to three when the third DP spot isn't used. In the end, we're looking comfortable heading into preseason with a few players up from Revs II that can prove helpful to the team if signed. If they're not, this roster is still MLS Cup worthy with Traustason's addition.