Caleb Porter Discusses Latest New England Revolution Transfers

Porter discusses Ivacic, Arreaga, and future transfers.

The New England Revolution made two Deadline Day moves on Tuesday, adding goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic and center back Xavier Arreaga. The club is expected to make more transactions in the coming months.

Named as head coach on Dec. 19, Caleb Porter has used the last four months to assess the roster.

“The moves were made because we need more,” Porter told media on Tuesday. “We need pieces. We need talent. We have talent, but we need more talent.”

According to Porter, the Revolution’s approach to the primary transfer window, which closes at 11:59 ET on Apr. 23, was complicated by the lack of cap space.

“I think it’s important for everybody to understand that the cap is extremely tight,” Porter said. “So because of previous contracts, there’s not much flexibility. If we had more flexibility, we’d make more moves. We had very little flexibility.”

Ivavic, 30, was waived by the Portland Timbers on Mar. 19 after making 56 appearances in the northwest. Ivacic signed with the Revs through 2025 and will occupy a supplemental roster spot.

In 2022, Ivavic earned the Portland supporters’ player of the year award after co-leading the league in saves (111). According to FBRef, he was fourth best in Post-Shot Expected Goals minus Goals Allowed (+5.7) that year.

“We were able to grab a goalkeeper with a very good contract situation for us,” Porter said. “We basically are able to move a fourth-string goalkeeper and add what we feel is a very strong backup, who’s been a starter in this league with a very good team in Portland and who could push for the starting role. So I feel like we got better there without having to make much move in terms of cap.”

The Revs also added Arreaga, 29, in a trade with Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for a 2025 international roster slot. They could also send Seattle up to $75,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) if certain performance metrics are met.

Arreaga arrived in Seattle as a Designated Player in 2019. He since made 101 regular-season appearances, including 82 starts. The Ecuadorian international (20 caps) helped Seattle win the 2019 MLS Cup and 2022 Concacaf Champions Cup.

“We targeted a top-quality central defender,” Porter said. “We were able to get him, Xavier Arreaga, who’s an Ecuadorian international. He’s played in a top club in Seattle. Two MLS Cup finals, MLS Cup championship in 2019. He played every game–all eight games–in Seattle’s run to the Concacaf Champions League title.

“He brings experience, he brings quality on the ball, the ability to play out of the back. A real calm, a real presence, so we think he’s a great addition. He’s only 29 as well. The age and, again, the cap hit was very good for a player who signed for over a $1 million 4-5 years ago to Seattle. So we feel like that’s a quality addition.”

The deal for Arreaga came together late on Monday.

“We were in the office here until 8 pm,” Porter said. “We were able to talk to Xavier Arriaga last night and get that character reference in the final check off with him to get that deal done.

“I think fans will really enjoy him here. He’s bilingual as well, which helps because we have a team that’s bilingual. He’s a winner, that’s the biggest thing, and he has quality and talent and he’s a leader.”

The Revs were on the verge of another deal but it feel through when Iddrisu Baba failed his medical due to a sports hernia injury.

Baba, 28, is a Ghanaian international who plays for La Liga club Almería while on loan from Mallorca.

“We did have another player targeted in the midfield, a six/eight position,” Porter said. “That deal fell through. Unfortunately, the medical didn’t pass. Obviously, it’s part of having a process. We have a process here now that’s very thorough and comprehensive with a checklist and that didn’t pass.

“Ultimately, it’s not ideal to lose a player in the 11th hour but when you have a process, you’re going to make the right decisions. We will always make the right decisions going forward here with the players in and out.”

With some time left in the primary transfer window, Porter didn’t rule out the possibility of another move, saying, “You never know, maybe one more move. Curt [Onalfo], Chris [Tierney], and Remi [Roy] are hustling, working very hard.”

After today, the Revolution’s next opportunity to make a move will be during the secondary transfer window, which runs from July 18 to August 14. Porter is expecting some activity at that time.

“We expect to have much more flexibility in the summer window,” Porter said. “We expect to make another three to four to five moves in that window as well. We have targeted positions and players for that window.”

The Revs are expecting to have more flexibility in the summer.

“The only flexibility we had was the assets we accrued over the last several months of the season,” Porter said. “So we were completely cap-tied when I got here, when Curt took over the roster from the previous regime and we’re trying to free up flexibility. We did the best that we possibly could in this window with the cap that we had available.

“We still have a little cap because obviously the one target we didn’t get but we’ll move now our emphasis on finding a player in that position in the next window. In a lot ways, it allows us to maybe even find a better one. The summer window is actually a little bit easier to work in and you have more time to really dig in and find the players that we need to help us eventually move in the direction of trophies.

“The group is getting better. Trust me, next quarter we’re going to be better. We’re going to tick up in every aspect but a part of that is adding a piece here or there. We feel like we added, for sure, two pieces that make us better, and every window, every transfer window, we’ll get better.”