New York Red Bulls Sign New Designated Player In Emil Forsberg
The New York Red Bulls continue with their massive off-season overhaul by signing a new Designated Player. The Red Bulls sign 32 year old attacking midfielder Emil Forsberg from RB Leipzig in the German Bundesliga. The Swedish International won two DFB Pokals with RB Leipzig along with one German Super Cup as well. Prior to Leipzig, Forsberg had a successful time playing within Sweden for Sundsvall and Malmo. With Malmo, Forsberg won two Allsvenskan titles as well as two Swedish Super Cups. In his 513 professional games, Forsberg has 121 career goals and 92 assists.
Forsberg career is one that is clearly deserving of a Designated Player title within MLS. But… does his current abilities match that of a DP? I’d argue yes. The only concern I can really get behind is the concerns of him turning 33 years old during the later half of the 2024 MLS season. Forsberg is still a player being called into the Sweden National Team and performing at a high level. Also, this season for Leipzig he had 5 G+A in roughly 960 minutes played between Bundesliga, UCL, and DFB Pokal action. Though a goal contribution every 192 minutes isn’t great, I think transitioning to Major League Soccer, we could see those numbers increase heavily.
The interesting thing for me to see with Forsberg and honestly the Red Bulls overall in 2024 is how they play. I expect to see the same Red Bulls pressing soccer we are accustomed to seeing, but in what formation? Under new manager Sandro Schwarz, it is a bit of a toss up. Schwarz has mostly played a 4-3-3 formation in his managerial career. WIth that, we could see Forsberg play as a traditional attacking midfielder or we could see him playing off the left wing as he has been doing for RB Leipzig. But, many MLS experts are predicting that we see Schwartz play a 4-2-2-2 formation. In that case, we could see him pairing up a ton with fellow Designated Player, Luqinhas. But we will have to wait and see how the latest Red Bulls Designated Player transitions and fits into the fold in Harrison, NJ.
