Real Salt Lake has holes to fill following a series of major moves last week.
Gone are star striker Chicho Arango, veteran midfielder Matt Crooks and up-and-coming goalkeeper Gavin Beavers.
So who’s in?
On Monday, RSL added 20-year-old center back Kobi Henry via loan from the French team Reims, where he played for the club’s B squad. The 6-foot-2 Henry is a U.S. Youth International, who came up through the Orlando City and Inter Miami youth academies.
Henry isn’t the only new player expected to arrive in Salt Lake as preseason training begins this week. RSL is expected to add a striker, a winger and a goalkeeper in the near future, according to a team source.
The changes will reshape Salt Lake’s roster ahead of an especially busy start to the season.
RSL will play its first competitive game of the year on Feb. 19 when the team travels to Costa Rica for a CONCACAF Champions Cup match against CS Herediano. Salt Lake opens Major League Soccer play at San Jose against Arango and his new Earthquake teammates on Feb. 22.
But for Salt Lake’s returning stars, the work remains the same.
“Things are happening. It’s preseason, it’s offseason. There are going to be changes all around the league,” RSL attacker Diego Luna said Monday from the U.S. Men’s National Team training camp in Florida. “For me, you take it and then you just kind of move on. There’s nothing you can really do about it. … I’m sure that RSL has everything under control and has a plan for this year. I really have no worries about who’s on the team and who’s not. I think each year there are going to be changes. It’s all up to the staff and the front office that knows what they’re doing and it’s for us to follow that to the best of our ability.”
RSL midfielder Emeka Eneli, who is making his first appearance at a USMNT camp, believes the changes can create opportunities for players like him.
“We’ve obviously lost some, some great players,” he said. “But there were also some good leaders on the field and off the field. So I think in my third year, trying to grow a little bit to become more of a leader in the locker room, on the field, cafeteria, gym, just being a better leader in in many different ways, hopefully. I think if I can do that, you know, it’ll help me grow as a player.”
Luna also sees an opportunity for a bigger role.
“I’m focusing on myself, making sure that I’m going to be in the best position to take on this season and making sure that I’m mentally ready to do whatever RSL asks of me to the best of my ability,” he said. “These are the moments that I worked for as a kid that are pretty cool, right? Taking on a bigger role. A lot of eyes. A lot of pressure. That’s the type of stuff that we work for and that we play for. That’s kind of exciting for me.”