Since 2014, the Houston Dynamo have qualified for the playoffs on one single occasion. Their latest appearance came in 2017, where they fell in the Western Conference final against the Seattle Sounders. In that season, the Dynamo finished in fourth place in the conference. Within the last four seasons, Houston's best finish was 10th place. Last year, their record sat at 10-18-6, scoring just 43 goals. New DP striker Sebastian Ferreira was virtually a lone bright spot. For these reasons, the Dynamo front office took action this off-season to reshape their roster.
The first point that the front office made was their cry for help at the fullback positions. They added three fullbacks, including Brad Smith from DC United, Franco Escobar from LAFC, and Djevencio van der Kust from Dutch side FC Utrecht. Escobar is likely to start on the right, with van der Kust on the left, while Brad Smith will provide depth. In the attack, they added Amine Bassi and Ivan Franco. Bassi, 25, can play the #10 or out wide. He arrives from FC Metz of France. Ivan Franco is a 22-year-old Paraguayan winger on loan from Libertad. They also added Artur, a long-time Columbus Crew central midfielder, to help stabilize the midfield. Other signings include Nigerian attacker Ifunanyachi Achara from Toronto FC, as well as goalkeeper depth in Andrew Tarbell from fellow Texas side Austin FC. Leaving the club will be many of the older players on 2022's roster, including Tim Parker, Darwin Quintero, and Fafa Picault. Memo Rodriguez leaves for LA Galaxy after making close to 150 appearances for his home town club. On the flip side, Quintero returned to his home country of Colombia after scoring 18 goals in 74 total appearances for the Dynamo. Zarek Valentin went to Minnesota United, Matias Vera was loaned to Argentinos Juniors, and Adam Lundqvist swapped places with Tarbell to join Austin FC. So far, Houston Dynamo have signed eight players and dumped nine, making their message for 2023 quite clear.
We cannot be exactly sure what the Dynamo will look like this season, as they will have 5-6 new players in the starting lineup. Steve Clark will start in goal, with DP defender Teenage Hadebe and Daniel Steres in front of him. In the midfield, Hector Herrera will hold it down next to new signing Artur, as well as Adalberto Carrasquilla. Carrasquilla, 24, had an impressive 2022 campaign, and will look to build on it. In the attack, Amine Bassi will likely get a look on the wings with Sebastian Ferreira up top. The other wing position is up for grabs, but Ivan Franco makes the most sense to fill the role, though Baird and Achara have a shot as well. One thing that this team lacks is depth. There are really not many tough decisions to make because there is not much competition at important positions. The starting lineup is far more exciting, but when a third of the team departs, it's hard to hold onto valuable depth. This could definitely end up being a problem down the stretch of a long season, especially with Leagues Cup. In any case, Dynamo fans will be glad to see their team addressing some of their biggest issues and pushing to return to the playoffs once again.
Projected XI:
GK: Clark
DEF: van der Kust, Hadebe, Steres, Escobar
MID: Artur, Carrasquilla, Herrera
FWD: Franco, Bassi, Ferreira
Off-Season-Grade: B-
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