It’s urgent for Sporting KC with transfer window nearing: ‘I want to be active’

Amid a seven-match losing streak and second consecutive season with a 10-match winless streak, questions about Sporting Kansas City manager Peter Vermes’ job security came in waves.

Sporting KC owner Mike Illig sought to put those questions to rest recently, telling The Star he wants Vermes to be in charge of an upcoming and much-needed roster reset.

“I still have a tremendous amount of confidence in Peter’s ability to be who we need him to be,” Illig told Star columnist Sam McDowell.

The club’s next chance for improvement through roster additions comes during the summer transfer window that’s set to open July 18. Vermes spoke with urgency about that on Thursday.

“Over the next two to three windows,” Vermes said, “we’re gonna have to be very active.”

Vermes chose to emphasize the next two to three windows, meaning the month-long secondary window that opens in a matter of weeks is squarely in his sights.

“I want to be (active),” he said. “I want to be, for sure.”

In his interview with The Star, Illig noted that three-fourths of the roster will soon be out of contract or subject to a team option. Vermes said the last time he was in that position was 2010.

But focusing on what will happen after this season — Sporting (3-9-5) currently sits in 12th in the MLS Western Conference with 14 points — would seem to put greater emphasis on the winter window than this one.

Illig lamented his team’s “latency” in the last three transfer windows. But Vermes knows there’s near-term opportunity at hand, too: After losing forward Gadi Kinda this past offseason, the team has the roster flexibility to add one more designated player (DP) this year.

Before the season started, Vermes told The Star that four deals for a DP-caliber midfielder had fallen through for various reasons. One of the most notable names was free agent Kellyn Acosta, who spurned Sporting’s advances and chose to instead join the Chicago Fire.

“I think we still need a central midfielder — we need an attacking midfielder, for sure,” Vermes said. “It’s still a position of need. But there are other places that we can improve.”

Vermes said Sporting KC really needs to add players on all three lines, including the forward positions (striker and winger) and defense. Might Vermes yet be able to add an attacking midfielder, too?

“I’d like to,” he said. “But I can’t tell you that it’s gonna happen that way. I’m still working with ownership on budget for that position.”

Vermes noted that plans will remain fluid — a high-dollar target who plays another position of need could become available, potentially sidetracking a DP-level outlay of cash in the attacking midfield spots.

“You might have to sort of defer just because the financial aspect, the timing and how all that stuff works,” Vermes said. “So I would say (attacking midfield), that’s for sure the target.

“If it happens? I can’t tell you if it does or not. We need players on all three lines, for sure.”