Last week the Seattle Sounders received one of the worst news of the year. As it being out of the playoffs wasn’t enough, now Seattle has to play the upcoming games without its main star. Clint Dempsey will be out indefinitively due to an irregular heartbeat problem. There’s no timetable for a return yet, so the USMNT star will certainly be out for a while.
Seattle fans might start to freak out, but things aren’t as bad as they might seem. After all, the team’s best player in recent weeks has been Nicolas Lodeiro, and it hasn’t been close. The Uruguayan will be with La Celeste in the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers, but he should be available down the stretch. He has provided a huge boost in the final third, and he’ll be even more important while Dempsey is out.
Lodeiro, however, won’t be the only player who needs to step up.
Another name who needs to become a key player is Jordan Morris. Sure, he’s still a rookie and fans might ask too much to him in his first year. But he’s proven he can be the focal point of the offense. After all, there’s a reason why he’ll be one of the most productive rookies in MLS history. Morris has nine goals and three assists in 26 appearances this season, and could easily finish the year with 15 goals.
Seattle also needs to tighten things up on the defensive end, where Osvaldo Alonso and Stefan Frei figure to be key figures for the team. Alonso is the one who disrupts the opposition play, while Frei guards between the posts. Neither has been very good this year, and Seattle needs more out of them.
Andreas Ivanschitz, Nelson Haedo Valdez and Herculez Gomez need to improve their play as well. The Austrian, in particular, has to be more decisive in the final third. He has enough experience to make a positive impact on the team down the stretch.
As we can see, Seattle needs a lot from lots of players. But Lodeiro and Morris are the biggest assets here. As long as both continue their spectacular play, Seattle should be fine. And they can’t be counted out of the playoff race yet.