Minnesota United enters home opener confident the remodel is going well

Even with all the newfound stability at Minnesota United, for fans who only know the biggest names on the roster, it’s been a year of upheaval.

Emanuel Reynoso? Gone. Teemu Pukki? Gone. And both within the first 15 months of the new Loons regime. And yet, as Minnesota gets set for its 2025 home opener on Saturday against Montreal, its roster is in a better place overall.

What often was a veteran-laden side, before the departure of Adrian Heath, has become much younger and potential-filled. The Loons starting lineup includes three 24-year-olds — Kelvin Yeboah, Tani Oluwaseyi, and Bongokuhle Hlongwane — who combined to score 28 goals last season.

On the other side of the age ledger, the Loons are down to just three players on the far side of 30. And despite being ancient in soccer terms, all three of Robin Lod, Michael Boxall, and Wil Trapp were among the top five on the team in terms of minutes played last season — a good sign that the team is being wise about the veterans they choose for leadership.

The Loons, who lost 1-0 at LAFC in last week’s MLS opener, have Dayne St. Clair, a top-10 keeper in the league who stands an excellent chance of backstopping Canada at next summer’s World Cup. They’ve got a stalwart, versatile midfielder in Hassani Dotson. They’ve got a new designated player who’s yet to prove himself in Joaquín Pereyra. And in wingback Joseph Rosales, they have a player whose talent and youth might make him the team’s most coveted player.

It’s a testament to the roster makeover that Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad has pushed. Even as the league continues to change the rules, he’s managed to use all the wonky, obfuscated MLS roster levers at his disposal to give himself flexibility in almost every area.

If El-Ahmad decides his squad needs another designated player-level talent, he’s got the ability to do it. He brought in two U22 Initiative players this offseason but still has the space to add more. He’s got salary-cap space and cash stockpiled.

Maybe the most impressive thing El-Ahmad has done is quickly making the team significantly younger. From 2017 to 2023, the Loons roster — weighted by minutes played, according to FBref.com — ranked among the oldest in the league three different times and was never outside the 10 oldest.

In 2024, the average age of the squad plummeted to a tie for the 10th-youngest roster in the league. Seven players who began the year at age 23 or younger played more than 1,000 minutes last season.

There have been swings and misses, like central defender Victor Eriksson, and the jury is still out on players like Pereyra and Matúš Kmeť, a 2024 addition who didn’t play for the first team once before going out on loan this year. And the roster wasn’t a candidate for a complete teardown; seven of the team’s starters last Saturday were acquired before the new CSO officially arrived.

But there have been solid hits, too. Yeboah was maybe the best player any team in the league added last summer. Jefferson Díaz and Carlos Harvey were key pieces, despite neither being a big name. And El-Ahmad did it all without breaking the bank, even as transfer fees around the league were skyrocketing.

So as the 2025 home slate begins, Minnesota’s roster is in a good spot. Maybe just as importantly, though: As the year wears on, the Loons will have the ability to make other additions on top of what they’ve already done.

7:30 p.m. Saturday at Allianz Field

TV; radio: Apple TV+, MLS Season Pass; 1500-AM

Montreal lost its opening game 3-2 at Atlanta. Prognosticators have consistently picked Montreal to finish out of the playoff spots in the Eastern Conference … Medina native Caden Clark started and played all 90 minutes for Montreal in Week 1. The 21-year-old scored four goals and tallied two assists for Montreal after being traded by Minnesota in August of last season, and he scored his first goal for the U.S. Men’s National Team in January. ... Injury report: Joseph Rosales (quad) and Loïc Mesanvi (ankle) are out.