While the New England Revolution didn't have a consistent attacking threat in 2025, Marko Mitrovic is excited by his options at striker in 206.
Leo Campana had a difficult 2025 season but heading into the 2026 campaign, the striker is impressing his new head coach.
After arriving in New England for over $2.5 million in General Allocation Money, Campana had an inconsistent output and also struggled to stay healthy. The striker played in 24 games and scored seven goals.
“I’m very pleased with Leo [Campana]. I don’t know how the last season was, the full context," Mitrovic told media members. "Obviously, I watched the games and I know that he had some setbacks with injuries last season, but I think that he came back after the break very focused and very ready. I believe he has certain goals ahead of him and knows that he can reach those goals only if he is at his best. His attitude is great. Every session, he has very high numbers. That shows the commitment, but also that he is very focused on the things that we are asking him to do. Not just scoring the goals, obviously for a forward that is the description of their job. But there are also small actions on the field in all four moments of the game, including set pieces, that we like our forwards to do and he is taking it very seriously and trying to implement everything into his game.”
While these numbers aren't terrible, they aren't up to par considering the price that the Revolution paid to acquire him. Additionally, the acquisition of striker Dor Turgeman signals some potential doubts if Campana is capable of being the guy up front.
The Israeli striker scored three goals and an assist over three appearance in 2025 after being acquired by Maccabi Tel Aviv. With the striker heading into his first full season in New England, Mitrovic believes that the sky is the limit for Turgeman.
“Dor [Turgeman] is definitely a player that has high potential," the head coach said. "He’s a 2003, so he is still only 22 years old. I can see the high potential in Dor. I would like to learn how we can use his potential in the best possible way. There is a lot of room in his development to grow as a player. It’s something that we will be focusing on in the period ahead of us – to work and develop him to become the best version of himself.”
If Turgeman and Campana can score at a consistent clip, New England will have a much better season compared to 2025. The work being done in the preseason should have fans feeling positive about the 2026 campaign.
But for both players it is time for them to prove the capability for consistency. Campana will need to show that he can stay healthy and score reliably while Turgeman will prove that his arrival in MLS was a preview and not a fluke.
"So, I’m really pleased with that commitment that everyone has here so far in the last three weeks," Mitrovic said. "Listen, when it’s something new, it’s easy to be motivated at the beginning. It’s something that I’m looking actually to see if we can sustain the same enthusiasm going forward, and that’s something that we have to work on. However, I’m very positive on the first three weeks so far.”
