The 2026 MLS summer transfer window is closed, and the season’s stretch run will unfold in the coming weeks. So, who did the best work to set themselves up for success both now and in the future?
We’ve taken a spin through the silly-season chaos and tried to make some early judgments along those lines, aided by expert input from other members of our MLSsoccer.com staff. And you, dear reader, can share your transfer takes as well: just drop me a line to tell me what I got right and where I missed out.
Best big-name signing: Antoine Griezmann (Orlando City)
Star power, energy, inspiration, commitment… the most flowery descriptions barely do justice to the French legend’s galvanizing effect on Orlando City since arriving in July.
With 4g/3a in his first seven league matches and a powerful aura that’s markedly raised his teammates' level, the 2018 FIFA World Cup winner has transformed the Lions from bottom dwellers into Audi MLS Cup Playoffs contenders.
Orlando recently climbed above the Eastern Conference’s playoff line, and a July 25 defeat of Supporters’ Shield leaders Nashville SC – one of only two league losses the Coyotes have suffered all year – suggested they can beat anyone on their day.
Honorable mentions
In Robert Lewandowski, Chicago Fire FC have welcomed one of the greatest strikers on earth, an elite finisher, demanding leader and timely new face of the franchise ahead of the 2028 opening of McDonald’s Park, their new glittering downtown stadium.
Atlanta United swung and missed on, well, let’s just say several of their last few Designated Player signings. Yet it's the nature of the Five Stripes to try, try again, this time with even more ambition: Swiss international Breel Embolo, the reported $18 million striker who could and should be the spearhead of their attack for years to come.
Best "cashfer": Dejan Joveljić (Seattle Sounders FC)
Paying $6 million for an MLS Cup winner and Serbian international who's now reached four seasons of double-digit goals in the league?
Landing Dejan Joveljić from Sporting Kansas City is very good business for the Seattle Sounders and maybe – just maybe – a move that will salvage their entire season.
Honorable mention
St. Louis CITY saw Seattle’s splash and said "watch this."
How else to interpret the Midwesterners’ record-breaking $12 million-plus trade for Colorado Rapids striker Rafael Navarro? They see the hard-working Brazilian as the ideal No. 9 for first-year head coach Yoann Damet’s slick possession system; we’re watching closely to find out.
Best under-the-radar move: Daryl Dike (Orlando City)
Antoine Griezmann is understandably dominating the headlines since his highly impactful arrival in central Florida. Bringing Dike back to Orlando after injury woes derailed his time in England at West Brom was a clever gambit, too, though.
A classic battering-ram No. 9, the Lions’ once-and-future hero offers a useful contrast to Grizi, Justin Ellis and the rest of the attack, and Dike has already scored the first goal of his second MLS stint.
Honorable mentions
Could Georgian box-to-box dynamo Anzor Mekvabishvili be this summer’s diamond in the rough? That’s what Chicago are hoping, and given the Fire’s scouting work thus far under Gregg Berhalter, we’re inclined to give the Romanian-league standout a good long look.
Conversely, the Men in Red also nabbed a familiar, dependable but easily overlooked MLS contributor in Inter Miami academy product Noah Allen.
Best loan: Elias Saad (Nashville SC)
The league’s runaway Supporters' Shield leaders managed to further improve themselves in this window, adding a legitimate creative threat on their left flank to further unbalance opposing defenses. Saad, a German-Tunisian winger, already has four assists in his first eight appearances for the Coyotes.
Honorable mention
Spending the season’s opening months on loan with Atlanta, Matías Galarza didn’t do quite enough to prompt Tata Martino & Co. to trigger his purchase option (which, to be fair, is rumored to be a substantial amount) from River Plate. Factor in his tigerish displays for Paraguay at the World Cup, however, and Inter Miami had good reason to bring him to South Florida for a loan of their own.
Best young player: Sayed Abu Farkhi (Colorado Rapids)
We took a long look at several options in this category. But we’ll give the nod to Sayed Abu Farkhi, the Colorado Rapids’ new reported $6 million man from Israeli outfit Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The 20-year-old striker has a promising scoring record to date, his underlying metrics point to strong defensive work and chance creation, and we reckon the Rapids technical staff has earned some trust with their recent transfer business.
Honorable mentions
Defenders Josh Wynder (New England) and Fricio Caicedo (Inter Miami) fit the bill, as does forward Luighi (New York City).
Best overall window: New England Revolution
With all respect to the good work of 2025 MLS Cup finalists Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps, both of whom appear to have strengthened already-excellent rosters, we’re giving New England the nod for the fruits of Chris Tierney’s first transfer window as their general manager and chief soccer officer.
New DP Jack Harrison is the highlight, adding a creative force to assist and amplify the excellent Carles Gil. Harrison has racked up six assists and 13 key passes in his first five matches with the Revs, and reportedly only cost about $1 million to acquire from English Premier League side Leeds United.
Tierney also extended goalkeeper Matt Turner's loan from Lyon, which they look likely to render a permanent deal next year. They got younger with Sounders homegrown Cody Baker, their own academy product Judah Siqueira, and US youth internationals Wynder and Marcos Zambrano. And they took low-risk flyers on Dániel Gazdag and Queens Park Rangers loanee Tylon Smith.
Honorable mention
Navarro, US international striker Damion Downs and Danish winger Carlo Holse are the big-ticket items for busy St. Louis, costing CITY reportedly somewhere near $20 million in all for a dramatic strengthening of their attack.
That said, we also like the club's lower-profile moves, like the intra-league loans for Charles-Emile Brunet and Zach Zengue that should bolster their depth and internal competition. Columbus Crew alum Alexandru Mățan looks like a savvy free-agent acquisition, and Orlando homegrown Tahir Reid-Brown is a smart development play.
Best outgoing move: Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids)
Portland reaped a jaw-dropping payday with Kevin Kelsy's move to Rangers, and San Diego FC did excellent work with Luca Bombino to develop the LAFC academy product and sell him on to Stoke City. No one comes near the Rapids’ masterstroke with Lucas Herrington, however.
Colorado were ever so clever to spot the 18-year-old center back in the A-League and sign him from Brisbane Roar for pennies on the dollar compared to the reported $17-23 million payday (depending on performance incentives and the like) they gained from his sale to Hull City, where the Australian World Cup veteran has already appeared in the Tigers’ first three matches of their Premier League return.
Honorable mentions
We’ve already written extensively about what a massive player-development win Zavier Gozo’s reported $15 million move to English Premier League club Crystal Palace represents for Real Salt Lake. And Bombino, an underappreciated homegrown fullback at LAFC, fashioned into a reported $5 million signing for English outfit Stoke City by San Diego FC, is that and then some for Los Niños and their plans to become a youth powerhouse.
