New York City FC are unbeaten in their first four matches this season, including a 2-2 draw against the New England Revolution on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass., and the team isn’t in a big rush to start tapping into the Jack๊ Harrison transfer fund.
Harrison was sold in the offseason to Manchester City for $6 million with performance add-ons that could potentially rise the fee by a f🌠ew million.
Per league rules, MLS and NYCFC split the transfer fee and NYCFC takes $750,000 from its portion which becomes gen💎eral allocation money, essentially money used to free up cap space. Even with NYCFC’s numerous additions this offseason, that allocation money is still around, according to Sp💧orting Director Claudio Reyna.
“It’s sitting there,” Reyna told The Post earlier this week. “We could add a player, but we’re not in any rush to do that given where we are with our squad. We feel good and will see how the next couple of months shape out. If we want to add someone, it’s likely going to be in the summer. But we’re very happy with o🦩ur squad.”
Harrison’s replacements — Jesus Medina and Ismael Tajouri — have shined in their first four games of the season while Harrison has played just 33 minutes in two appearances for Middlesbrough, who h𝔍e joined on loan in England’s Championship. Tajouri scored two goals against the Revolution (1-1-1) and has NYCFC off to their best start in history.
At the time, the move was a mutual once that both Harrison and NYCFC (3-0-1) c꧋ould afford — and it’s something fans should get used to.
“[Jack] won’t be the last player to move on,” Reyna said of the sale. “This is a sign of the club doing good things. We’re playing well, we’re showcasing our players and our team. With that, you’re going to get interest from clubs abroad. I’ve always said that’ไs very good and healthy for interest if we have scouts from European clubs looking at our players.”
NYCFC inked their second-ever homegrown signing Wednesday when they signed right back Joe Scally. The 15-year-old’s signature came less than a year after James Sands became the first to sign from the team’s academy to the first team.
Could more academ🀅y signings be coming to NYCFC’s first team this year? P𝔍ossibly.
“We’re always looking. I think there’s a good crop, as I’ve said before, that have caught [coach] Patrick [Vieira’s] eye and ไcontinue to perform well. We want to make sure that the player’s ready, the family’s ready and we’re ready as a first-team to bring this all together,” Reyna said.
Vieira called in five academy kids — Scalley, Tyler Shaver𒊎, Justin Haak, Dante Polvara and Gio Reyna — into the first team’s preseason in Jacksonville, Fla.
“Some might sign now, other may go to college fo꧃r a year then sign,” Reyna said. “Some might sign next year. We’re always looking at it but there’s for sure a few more who could make the jump.”
Of course, that would be easier if NYCFC had a sec♛ond team. Reyna said NYCFC is still looking but will take a “wait and see” approach as to whether it’ll add a second team to play in the United Soccer League by 2019.
The reason? NYCFC ൲wants to see how the USL, wh𒅌ich received second-division statues by U.S. Soccer earlier this year, shapes up before jumping into those waters.
NYCFC still would like to find a second team near New York, but remain confident in their partnership with San Antonio FC. Reyna cited the emergence of d🐭efender Sebastien Ibeagha, who spent the past two years in San Antonio before signing this offseason, as one of the reasons why NYCFC likes how San Antonio develops players.
“We’re really comfortabl🔴e and confident if we had to send a player there on loan that they would be getting good training,” Reyna said of San Antonio. “Ther🅷e’s a possibility we may send some players to San Antonio to play as well next year if we’re not ready.”