It looks as though costless agent midfielder Jermaine Jones has found his next home according to multiple sources. They are claiming that Jones is close to signing a Designated Player deal with the Chicago Fire that would pay him somewhere between $2 million and $3 million depending on which report you read. No matter what the salary amount is he will be one of the highest paid players in the league and the second DP for the Fire; Juan Luis Anangono is the other DP though he is currently on loan with Liga de Quito in Ecuador.
This would be the second midfielder signed this month as the Fire signed Romania International Răzvan Cociș to a deal. As with most deals in Major League Soccer, the terms were not disclosed but he is not a designated player according to MLS. Cociș brings with him a vast array of experience during his 13-year career that has seen him play all over the world. Most of his experience comes from Eastern Europe where he played for clubs like Lokomotiv Moscow in Russia to Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova to FC Hoverla Uzhhorod in Romania.
One of the interesting parts of this deal is that Jones apparently will not be subject to go through the MLS Allocation Ranking, where Chicago holds the 5th position. According to ESPN's Alexi Lalas, MLS officials told him that "Designated Players of a certain threshold as determined by the league" can skip the allocation process and negotiate directly with the team of their choosing. The same thing occurred when star United States Men's National Team players Clint Dempsey and Michael Bradley rejoined the league within the past year.
Among the transfer rumors out there is that Bruce Arena and the Los Angeles Galaxy are looking to secure a six-month loan for National Team midfielder Sacha Kljestan from 33 time-Belgian First Division Champions RSC Anderlecht. Kljestan made 30 appearances, including five UEFA Champions League starts, during the 2013-2014 regular season. It appears though that he may have fallen out of favor with new manager Besnik Hasi; Kljestan made a seven-minute substitute appearance in the club's 2014 season opener this past Sunday.
According to Soccer by Ives, an MLS league source confirmed to them that Kljestan "would be subject to the Allocation Order." That, of course, should be a good indication why the Galaxy made a deal with D.C. United which saw 23-year-old Ghanian center-back Kofi Opare, along with a second-round pick in the 2015 SuperDraft sent to United earlier in the week. The two clubs also swapped spots in the allocation order which saw the Galaxy jump to 3rd behind Columbus Crew and FC Dallas; DC United is now in the 11th spot between Chivas USA and the New York Red Bulls.
Kljestan would join the Galaxy with a DP salary but he may not count as a true designated player with a pro-rated salary due to joining at mid-season. That would be the best news for the Galaxy considering they already have the maximum number of Designated Players with 3 (Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and Omar Gonzalez).
MLS Commissioner Don Garber stated that his vision is to be "one of the top leagues in the world by 2022." A very big ambition for a sport that is still struggling to break into the mainin its own country. The task is difficult but it is doable.
The biggest thing that needs to change in Major League Soccer in order for it to be considered as one of the top leagues in the world is the allocation order. The current system is flawed, as most people who cover and look the league understand, with the biggest example now being the way that these Jones and Kljestan transfers are being handled.
Selections to the USMNT are not fully indicative on the skill that a player possess. That selection process is decided by Manager Jurgen Klinsmann based on his views of a player as well as where that player may fit in his tactical system. Just because Jones has more appearances in the last year for the USMNT does not make him a better player than Kljestan.
All of the players are currently appearing for or have made appearances for the United States should be treated the exact same way when they return the league. If that is through the allocation system then that is fine, but just as long as every player is subjected to the same process.
In this case, the Galaxy had to trade away a promising young center-back in order to be in position to acquire a national team player but the Fire do not have to give up anything for their national team target? Where is the parody in that? Why have we not heard a ruckus from the "un-sexy" teams of Major League Soccer who will probably never see "Designated Players of a certain threshold as determined by the league" suit up in their colors because they can bypass the established system?
You would think in this single-entity system that Major League Soccer employs that they would be looking out for ALL of the clubs in the league. It is apparent though that as long as MLS continues to get what it wants, nothing will change.