Sporting Kansas City’s preseason is underway. Here are five storylines to follow

Sporting Kansas City officially reported for preseason training Saturday, though several players have been around for about a week. Sporting director Mike Burns and manager Peter Vermes also delivered a news conference Saturday morning, discussing various topics with game action a month away.

Burns also announced a player signing: Mason Toye, a free agent in MLS. Toye, 26, has been somewhat of a journeyman in his MLS career.

After being drafted by Minnesota United out of Indiana University in 2018, Toye has made just over 100 appearances in Major League Soccer, notching 20 goals. Toye was traded to Montreal in 2020. Last season, he was part of a midseason trade to Portland before entering free agency this offseason.

Here are five other takeaways from that news conference...

Alan Pulido’s departure gives Sporting KC flexibility

Sporting KC’s transfer of Alan Pulido back to Chivas came together quickly. Or so it seemed.

Vermes said that discussions surrounding Pulido’s exit began seven weeks prior and only accelerated over the last three weeks, as Mexican transfer market activity increased.

Vermes also recalled a conversation from the end of the 2024 season, saying he told Pulido that Sporting would “be open to anything in regards to movement.”

Still, certain stipulations needed to be met.

According to Vermes, those stipulations included that there wouldn’t be any sort of buyout or mutual contract termination. Sporting favored a transfer — and clean financial break — since Pulido was still on Year 2 of a hefty three-year extension. The last buyout Sporting used was on Uri Rosell in 2022.

Being able to clear the deck entirely from a designated player standpoint is the ultimate level of flexibility for a squad hoping to rebuild.

“A lot of clubs don’t have that flexibility that we have right now,” Burns said.

What will Sporting KC do with open roster spots?

Sporting KC has talked a big game leading into the offseason, and now there is flexibility to make a move.

Late in the 2024 season, for examples, Vermes mentioned the team would be searching for a “No. 10” — an attacking midfielder — from its designated player candidates. Burns and Vermes both mentioned that very thing Saturday.

The team hoped to bring someone in that spot last season but never did. A difficult year followed.

Results over the last three years show it will be difficult to be competitive without that type of game-changer in the midfield. The team’s best stretch of play came with a healthy Gadi Kinda. In 2022, he was injured, and in 2024, he was gone. Once Kinda returned to the fold in 2023, the team started winning.

The team’s success isn’t solely tied to the availability of a standout No. 10. But Kinda’s injection of creativity, craftiness and unpredictability helped take Sporting to a new level. Sporting aims to find someone who can do that again.

Now, with Pulido’s spot open, Sporting has four premium roster slots to use in various ways: either three designated players and a singular U-22 initiative player or two designated players and two U-22 players.

How close is Sporting to filling those spots? Burns said the club has extended offers to players that would fit into both categories, but no deals have been closed. Burns added Sporting would like to add those players in this window, but that finding the right players trumps all.

“We want to make sure that we do our due diligence and not only extend offers, but when we close deals, make sure that we’re bringing in the right player in the right position at the right age,” Burns said. “... So we want to make sure we get it right, or as close to right as possible.”

Roster fit with Mason Toye and William Agada

Pulido’s departure now puts a bit of the spotlight on whoever replaces him. The obvious candidate is William Agada. But Toye has shown flashes of being a reliable striker, too

Both of them have been streaky.

Agada’s underlying numbers put him among the best strikers in the league. Despite playing less than 2,000 minutes, his xG (expected goals) total was 14.37, according to American Soccer Analysis (ASA). That mark ranked sixth in MLS.

However, he underperformed that expectation by 4.37 — the biggest difference in MLS — which speaks to his streaky finishing record.

Toye’s underlying numbers don’t match Agada’s. In his best season, with seven goals in 2021, he posted only a 4.69 xG. Toye has never hit 1,000 minutes in a single season.

But Vermes said he believes Toye and Agada can both be front-line leaders.

“It’s up to them, and if they don’t see that, then they shouldn’t be here, right?” Vermes said. “But also, you’ve got to work for that, and you’ve got to be consistent. But they have the ability and the qualities to become that person.”

Sporting KC’s new attitude

One of the big admissions in the aftermath of the 2024 season was that the team had lost its way regarding its mentality. The team conceded goals left and right — setting a dubious club record by conceding 75 times.

Sporting also dropped 20 points from a winning position, particularly early in the season.

Vermes wants to see a greater commitment to being tough to play against. He highlighted the role that has played in Sporting consistently making the playoffs.

“One of the biggest reasons is because we’ve always been top three in goals against,” Vermes said. “We’ve got to get back to being a really, really tough team to play against defensively.”

With little room to make defensive roster changes — due to contracts — Sporting will retain most of the defenders from last season and rely on a shift in mentality.

Vermes also hopes KC improves its intensity on offense. Sporting was one of the slowest to-goal teams in MLS last season. Vermes wants players to be more intentional with the ball going to goal.

Sporting ranked 10th in MLS in possession in 2024 and sixth in touches inside the attacking third — but just 26th in touches inside the opponent’s penalty area.

“When we talk about possession in this club, we talk about it in a manner in which you possess the ball to create as many high-quality chances as you possibly can,” Vermes said. “The objective is not to just get more passes than the other team in the game.”

Who is the captain?

Johnny Russell’s departure means the team will search for a new captain. Jake Davis, Erik Thommy, Daniel Salloi and Nemanja Radoja are returners who have worn the armband.

Vermes has not yet decided who he wants to be captain, as “you can’t force leadership upon someone,” he said.

“You either have it or you don’t,” Vermes added.

Vermes is looking for a leader to emerge during the preseason or from a new signing.

“If you have it, you have it,” Vermes said. “You don’t need to be here for 10 years to then display it. You can come in and show it on the first day. So it’s going to play itself out over the course of preseason.”

Sporting KC preseason roster

Sporting KC’s preseason roster was released on Monday afternoon. In addition to the recent signing of Toye, Sporting has invited 10 other players to preseason training in Florida.

Jansen Miller and Anthony Samways, Sporting’s first and second round picks for 2025, will join, as will 2024 draft pick Dyson Clapier. Clubs retain rights to drafted players for three seasons.

In addition, Carson Klein and Sebastian Cruz were invited after spells with SKC II last season. Cielo Tschantret, under contract with SKC II, is also in the camp. Three academy players, Johann Ortiz, Leo Christiano and Jacob Molinaro, were invited to preseason.

Finally, Jan Jurcec, a defender, joins the preseason camp. Jurcec, 23, has spent most of his career in his home country. He spent the 2024/2025 season with SCR Altach of the Austrian Bundesliga, making 24 appearances. He has four appearances with the Croatian U-21 national team.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.