Minnesota United set to pick fifth in Friday's MLS SuperDraft

In last year's Major League Soccer SuperDraft, Minnesota United picked first and took forward Abu Danladi, who ended up second in Rookie of the Year voting.

The draft on Friday will probably not be like that.

Besides the obvious of the Loons picking fifth in the draft held in Philadelphia ahead of their sophomore season in the league, there isn't a unanimous No. 1 in this class.

In fact, United coach Adrian Heath's resounding impression of the player pool as of Tuesday at the combine in Orlando was "OK."

"I don't think there's as many standouts," Heath said. "Last year, Abu was, I thought, clearly the best player. … So that makes it a little bit more interesting (Friday) for the simple fact that you don't know whom people are going to take. Like I think everybody knew who the first two or three last year were going to be, it was just which order they were going to be picked in."

So, unless a player absolutely lit up the combine, United's draft strategy will likely center on adding depth or picking someone with trade value. Sporting Director Manny Lagos mentioned adding a young developing player at forward. Heath said since the Loons already have 22-year-old Danladi, who had eight goals and three assists in 27 games last season, he'd rather focus on other areas.

Heath and Lagos agreed that another fullback is a reasonable target. The team's existing options include right-back Jerome Thiesson, left-back Marc Burch, new signing Tyrone Mears and usual center-back Francisco Calvo. Heath also pointed out the goalkeeper position, as United has just starter Bobby Shuttleworth and last season's third-choice Alex Kapp on the roster.

Of United's four picks last season, only Danladi made an impact. Defender Thomas de Villardi was the other player the team actually signed but injuries prevented him from ever playing. The team declined his option ahead of this season. Second-round pick Alec Ferrell dealt with a persistent knee injury and fourth-rounder Tanner Thompson played last year in the North American Soccer League. The Loons added Kapp, Atlanta's fourth round pick, in the summer.

In all, of the 81 drafted players last year, 42 made an MLS roster and only 27 are still on an MLS team. Only nine played in more than 10 games, according to the league.

"The way soccer develops in this country, college soccer is one of the many avenues for professional development and finding players," Lagos said. "And I think if you get one player that contributes out of the draft in a year in MLS, you look at that as a success."

Of the 220 eligible players in the draft this year, six are, like Danladi, a part of Generation Adidas and won't count against the salary cap. So that monetary relief might be of interest to United as will any players who won't take up an international slot. United currently has 10 international players, though one is on loan and won't count, and last season the league allowed each team eight internationals unless there were trades for more.

Whomever United selects, the decision will likely come down to how the player interviewed, as that's what sealed the deal for Danladi.