The 30th MLS team will join the league next year, but Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano remains their only confirmed Designated Player.
San Diego FC's roster size doubled this week with a slew of new players joining the team via the MLS Expansion Draft.
Prior to their inaugural season, San Diego was given the choice of 354 eligible players to add to their roster. They opted to sign Heine Gikling Bruseth (Orlando City), Hamady Diop (Charlotte FC), Jasper Loffelsend (Colorado Rapids), Hosei Kijima (St. Louis City) and Thiago Andrade (New York City). The latter was immediately traded to Toronto FC.
San Diego also brought in the impressive Andres Reyes from MLS Cup finalists New York Red Bulls, but bigger deals are in the works. In recent months, San Diego has been linked with transfers for Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Ramos. During the Expansion Draft coverage, athletic director Tyler Heaps was asked if they were close to filling any of the remaining Designated Player slots.
“I told you I don't sleep!” Hop joked. “We're working on it, we're definitely working on it. It will come. We are very close, but you know how this industry works. It's about negotiating, about getting the right price, about the right player. We have done a lot of work behind the scenes with our scouts and our recruiting staff, which has done an incredible job.”
With just two months to go until the start of the 2025 season, it appears San Diego will start with just two DPs, allowing them to utilize an additional Under-22 Initiative slot and take advantage of an additional $2 million in overall allocation money.
San Diego's head coach looks at the second designated player
The first major signing for San Diego was Hirving 'Chucky' Lozano, the Mexican international who has played in the Netherlands and Italy over the past seven years. Lozano performed consistently throughout his time at PSV and Napoli and was a major coup for SDFC.
Heaps has previously indicated that the next DP would likely be a right winger or a more central attacking midfielder. Manchester City star De Bruyne would be suitable for this and has experience in various positions. Head coach Mikey Varas admitted he would like to see the next signing confirmed so he can work with a fuller squad.
“I think the next step for us is to get our second DP,” Varas said. “We know in our league that if you get your DPs right, you're competitive. At the same time, we're looking for a few more value-based assets that will ensure those DPs have the best chance to be successful.”