CARSON — The Galaxy’s search for a top scoring threat at the forward position led the way to acquiring St. Louis City SC’s João Klauss.
On Tuesday, the Galaxy completed a cash trade for Klauss, sending $2.375 million to St. Louis City SC. In three seasons in MLS, Klauss has scored 25 goals.
“Going into the offseason, he was our top target,” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said. “We knew we needed a 9 (forward) and at that point in time, we thought we had three Designated Players and we were trying to figure out how we could stretch within the confines of the MLS rules to find the right structure for a deal that would bring Klauss in.
“It was really difficult because he was in the last year of his deal. St. Louis still wanted a lot in return because they had Klaus now as a (Target Allocated Money) player, he was originally a DP, now a TAM player. And there was an extension part of the conversation, that became difficult and ultimately sort of fell apart.”
The Galaxy entered the offseason thinking all three of their Designated Players (Joseph Painstil, Gabriel Pec and Riqui Puig) would be available. However, Puig had to undergo another ACL surgery, which eventually rekindled talks with St. Louis for Klauss.
“When Riqui got here, it allowed us to re-engage conversation because the deal structure could be very different,” Kuntz said.
The Galaxy placed Puig on the season-ending injury list, allowing them to bring in Klauss as a Designated Player. He is in the last year of his contract.
“He knows the league, he’s bigger than you think, he’s faster than you think and, for me, he’s younger than you think,” Kuntz said. “He’s a real handful. He occupies space. He’s very good technically and we like the way he plays underneath.
“One of the concerns we had initially was that because Riqui will show up late (on the ball) sometimes, we’re worried that he and Riqui might be in the same places, but he offers a lot of experience and quality and size. I think our group will benefit from him up top and because of the opportunity provided, the season-ending injury replacement mechanism, we were able to structure a deal and I think it gives us some good flexibility going forward.”
The trade didn’t automatically trigger an extension, Kuntz said, adding that Klauss is “betting on himself and we’re kind of betting on ourselves.”
“He is coming for one year, so I think he’s betting on this turning into a contract, a bigger contract down the line,” Kuntz said.
Klauss was St. Louis City’s first Designated Player, joining the club in 2023. He scored 10 MLS goals that year in 19 games.
“First and foremost, he’s a good soccer player,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “Really good feet, good technique, a guy, who as a striker, can link up plays, bring attackers into the game … he’s a good finisher. Gives us size up top too. If teams are trying to overpress us, he gives us a target. If teams are sitting low, he gives us a big body in the goal, in the box to score with his head.
“Without having someone like Riqui, who tends to come a little lower and play the game forward, João will come off the back line, pick up the game, play the winger into attacks and then join the attacks too. He’s got good speed in transition moments, he’s a smart defender, just a good experienced forward.”
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