New England Revolution "Refresh" Roster Ahead Of 2025

Porter: “We felt it was important to refresh the roster and to bring in some new blood to enter a new era."

Photo Courtesy of the New England Revolution

The New England Revolution have made 11 additions ahead of the 2025 season, and two more are expected before First Kick.

The Revs will look different this year as Mamadou Fofana, Brayan Ceballos, Jackson Yueill, Leonardo Campana, Alex Bono, Tanner Beason, Luis Diaz, Donovan Parisian, Allan Oyirwoth, Ignatius Ganago, and Wyatt Omsberg transferred to Foxborough during the off-season.

The moves were made to “refresh” the roster.

“We felt it was important to refresh the roster and to bring in some new blood to enter a new era, and to get players that, no right or wrong, were a little bit more the profile that could play in my game model,” head coach Caleb Porter explained.

“Every game model is a little different, so we chose to bring in a lot of new players. So, that's exciting. I love having new energy, I love having new blood. You can feel it, in the first two days, that this group is hungry.”

One of the marquee signings was Campana, who joins after amassing 28 goals and eight assists in 80 league matches for Inter Miami CF.

Porter believes that Campana is the number nine that the team needs.

“Leo, we're very excited about,” Porter said. “He's a true number nine. I prefer a true number nine, in terms of profile. He has done very well in this league. I love that.

“It's a player we don't have to transition to a new league. He has already been successful in this league. He has scored goals at a high level. He just never really had the run of games to, for me, really take that next step to become one of the best strikers in MLS. I feel like he has that potential.”

Porter said that Campana is “strong and good in the air” while complimenting his hold-up play. The head coach also stated the striker’s “work rate is good.”

Campana told the media that he’s excited to join the Revs, saying, “That is something that I wanted to find for a long time, a coach that has the confidence in me not only to stay in the box, but to come a little bit behind, to ask for the ball, to play, and to have that freedom to play.”

Porter highlighted the additions of Fofana and Ceballos, who are expected to be the starting center backs.

Fofana, 26, has club experience in France and international experience with Mali. Ceballos, 23, has played for clubs in Brazil and Ukraine and made four appearances with the Colombia Under-23 National Team.

“We feel like in Ceballos and Fofana that we have two guys that can win duels, that can play with a high line,” Porter said. “Then our attack starts with the goalkeeper and the central defenders, so we need guys that can move our team up the field, guys that are clean and that can play through lines, can find passes and not play backwards.”

Porter noted that there are two players that he considers to be “sleepers” ahead of the season.

One is Yueill, who comes to New England after eight seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes. Over the last five seasons, he’s played 12,275 minutes, the sixth most among active MLS players.

“Jackson Yueill, I think, is going to be a very good soccer player for us,” Porter said. “We haven't had that guy that can kind of really dictate the rhythm and tempo in our midfield, and a guy that's going to really connect from our backline into our front guys.

“I've watched Jackson for a lot of years, and I feel like he's a guy that's very underrated. I think people are going to be very surprised just how much soccer [talent] this guy has. He's a soccer player, very clean, two-footed, and is going to be a real key rhythm guy for us.”

The other player mentioned was Ganago. The 25-year-old attacker has played over 150 games in Ligue 1, scoring 23 goals and providing eight assists.

Ganago is on a six-month loan from FC Nantes with an option to purchase. If playing-time conditions are met, the loan will be extended by six months.

“He's a big-time player,” Porter said. “He's a beast physically, strong, fast, and very technical. He's an individual game changer.”

Porter said that Ganago can be used out wide—especially with Chancalay out until April—as well as up top.

Porter also mentioned that attacker Luis Diaz and defender Wyatt Omsberg are experienced pieces who are on senior minimum contracts.

While the Revs have certainly been active this off-season, Porter hinted at two future moves.

He anticipates adding “a very experienced striker” in the next couple of days.

Porter then noted that the team is eyeing a U-22 player. While he didn’t mention the position, The Blazing Musket reported that the club is looking at 20-year-old right back Ilay Feingold of Maccabi Haifa.

The Revs did gain some flexibility when they traded Giacomo Vrioni to CF Montreal.

The team, which currently has two Designated Players (Carles Gil and Chancalay) and one U-22 player (Luca Langoni), could decide to keep the three DP, three U-22 model or shift to the model that allows two DPs, four U-22s, and up to $2 million in General Allocation Money.

Porter said the Revs will “probably start the year with the two and the four [model].” However, the team could shift.

“It's still fluid,” Porter said. “We like the flexibility to go either way. Obviously, we have a Designated Player in Tomas Chancalay, who will be back in April, so it makes sense to kind of see how the group comes together and to figure out a path based on that. We like the flexibility of where things are at right now.”

Porter mentioned that “if [Ganago] does really well, there’s even [more] flexibility. He could be the third DP.”

While the Revs have yet to commit to a roster construction path, they are committed to building the best possible roster.

“It makes sense to kind of wait and see a little bit in the early stage of the season before we strategize too much which direction we're going to go,” Porter said of the models. “We want to continue to use every mechanism we have to maximize our roster and our ability to get more and more talented.