FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution exercised the 2018 contract options on nine players in the first phase of Major League Soccer's offseason calendar. In addition to the five players who are under contract for 2018, at least 14 players will return to the club next season.
The nine players whose options were picked up are Juan Agudelo, midfielder Scott Caldwell, goalkeeper Cody Cropper, midfielder Zachary Herivaux, forward Femi Hollinger-Janzen, forward Kei Kamara, midfielder Kelyn Rowe, defender Chris Tierney, and goalkeeper Matt Turner.
The five players already under contract with the club for the 2018 season are defender Antonio Delamea, defender Claude Dielna, midfielder Diego Fagundez, forward Krisztián Németh, and midfielder Lee Nguyen.
The club did not exercise options on seven players who are out of contract on Dec. 31, 2017: defender Benjamin Angoua, midfielder Xavier Kouassi, defender Donnie Smith, defender Josh Smith, defender Je-Vaughn Watson, defender London Woodberry, and forward Brian Wright.
In addition, four players are now out of contract: forward Teal Bunbury, defender Andrew Farrell, goalkeeper Brad Knighton, and midfielder Daigo Kobayashi. Knighton is eligible to become a free agent when free agency begins on Dec. 12 at 3:00 p.m. ET. Midfielder Gershon Koffie also returns to his original club, Hammarby IF (Sweden), as the Revolution did not have a permanent transfer option.
Per MLS rules, the Revolution have until Thursday, Dec. 14 to make offers to any re-entry draft eligible players, including players whose options were not exercised or out of contract players.
The next major phase of the offseason calendar is the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft on Tuesday, Dec. 12 at 2:00 p.m. ET. The newest expansion side to enter the league, LAFC, may select up to five players from the eligible player pool; each current MLS club may only lose one player in the draft. The list of protected players and those players eligible for the Expansion Draft will be made public prior to the draft.
Following the Expansion Draft, the offseason calendar continues with the 2017 MLS Waiver Draft on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Finally, the MLS Re-Entry Draft will take place over two stages on Friday, Dec. 15 and Thursday, Dec. 21.
2018 Player Options Exercised
- Juan Agudelo – Forward
- Scott Caldwell – Midfielder
- Cody Cropper – Goalkeeper
- Zachary Herivaux – Midfielder
- Femi Hollinger-Janzen - Forward
- Kei Kamara – Forward
- Kelyn Rowe - Midfielder
- Chris Tierney – Defender
- Matt Turner – Goalkeeper
Players Under Contract for 2018
- Antonio Delamea - Defender
- Claude Dielna - Defender
- Diego Fagundez – Midfielder
- Krisztián Németh - Forward
- Lee Nguyen – Midfielder
Player Options Not Exercised
- Benjamin Angoua - Defender
- Xavier Kouassi – Midfielder
- Donnie Smith – Defender
- Josh Smith - Defender
- Je-Vaughn Watson – Defender
- London Woodberry – Defender
- Brian Wright – Forward
Players Out of Contract on Dec. 31, 2017
- Teal Bunbury - Forward
- Andrew Farrell – Defender
- Brad Knighton – Goalkeeper (Free Agent Eligible)
- Daigo Kobayashi – Midfielder
Player Returning to Original Club
- Gershon Koffie – Midfielder (Hammarby IF)
