MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season
MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season The 2022 Major League Soccer season is drawing near, so let’s take a look into the future and discuss the best players in the league.
When it comes to determining who the top players in the league are overall, attacking brilliance is obviously the most important factor, but that’s just part of the narrative.
These 10 players are the cream of the crop as Major League Soccer kicks off its 27th season of play. There was a lot of very good talent that didn’t make the cut, but these 10 players represent the best of the best.
As we go towards the year 2022, the MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season are followed by a list of Honorable Mentions. The upcoming season will reveal whether or not they are worthy of investment for your team.
1. Josef Martinez (FW, Atlanta United)
Martinez, like Vela, saw a considerable decline in performance when compared with the previous season. Despite the fact that he didn’t play as much as Vela did, he nonetheless finished the season with a goal total in the double digits.
Even still, Atlanta United’s attack is not as lethal as it once was, which demonstrates that a great club needs more than just one superstar player to compete at the highest level.
Martinez is still among the most dangerous players in the league and very well may be the most dangerous player overall. The club has lately made major expenditures on Thiago Almada and Luiz Araujo in response to the player’s acknowledged requirement for a scoring improvement. Araujo has already proved his potential by contributing to the team’s success in the Major League Soccer (MLS), in contrast to Almada, who is a player for the future who still has opportunity to improve.
How effectively and how consistently Martinez plays for Atlanta United throughout the upcoming season will be a significant factor in determining whether or not the team fights for the Eastern Conference crown or just barely makes it into the playoffs and gets ousted in the first round.
2. Walker Zimmerman (CB, Nashville SC)
It is impossible to adequately convey the importance of Walker Zimmerman to Nashville SC. You need only inquire about it to LAFC.
After dealing away defensive mainstay Walker Zimmerman to Nashville, the Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) had a significant dip in their performance during the 2019 regular season. LAFC won the Western Conference despite participating in 34 games during the 2019 season, despite allowing 37 goals to be scored against them. They allowed 39 goals in just 21 games in 2020, which is a substantial rise from the previous year (in a COVID-shortened season).
In Nashville, all that Zimmerman was able to achieve was win the MLS Defender of the Year award for two consecutive years. Now, the United States men’s national team relies heavily on him as they attempt to earn a spot in the 2022 World Cup.
At the age of 28, Zimmerman has already cemented his position as one of the best players in the game, which makes him a very valuable asset and one of the MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season.
3. Xherdan Shaqiri (CM/LW, Chicago Fire)
Both Insigne and Shaqiri came in Major League Soccer following unsuccessful stints with European teams. During the course of the contract at Lyon, he continued to lose the team’s favor at an increasing rate.
While the Italian took his time to decide whether or not to go to the United States, Shaqiri has the advantage of having the full season to acclimate himself to his new league. This summer, Chicago made a number of roster adjustments to get younger, and the signing of Shaqiri will be a significant boon for the development of the younger players on the club. Nevertheless, creating an impression on the field will be his top objective going forward.
This season, Shaqiri should be able to score anywhere from 15 to 20 goals and provide 10 or more assists.
Shaqiri is one of the MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season.
4. Lorenzo Insigne (FW, Toronto FC)
Due to the significance of his transfer to Toronto FC, Insigne is still considered to be among the top half of this list despite the fact that he did not join the club until the middle of the current campaign.
However, the Italian still has a lot of ground to cover. He was plagued by repeated issues with his calf and adductor muscles, and as a result, he had a terrible season with Napoli, scoring just six goals in twenty matches. When he finally makes it to Canada, he will have turned 31 years old.
Even though Insigne has been a regular in Roberto Mancini’s team ever since 2016, he will need to demonstrate that he still has plenty of gas in the tank if Italy is going to make it through a hard qualifying road and compete in the 2022 World Cup.
5. Carlos Vela (FW, LAFC)
Beginning in September and going into October of 2021, Carlos Vela had a hamstring injury that troubled him throughout the season.
Before he moved overseas, there were already signs that something was wrong with him, as he had only scored five goals and dished out five assists in a total of 17 games played. Vela, who is 32 years old and on the final year of his deal, needs a breakout year to demonstrate that he is still one of the league’s most dangerous attackers. This will prove that he is still one of the most dangerous attackers in the league.
However, it is impossible to deny the fact that Vela has been responsible for some of the most iconic and unforgettable moments in the contemporary history of Major League Soccer. The vast majority of his goal contributions from the year before came over a single stretch of 11 games, during which he shown signs of being in the best shape of his life. When Vela plays at that level, neither LAFC nor any other club has a chance to win, not even themselves.
Carlos Vela is one of the MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season.
6. Valentin Castellanos (FW, NYCFC)
Even if there are plenty of attackers in this category, it would be unethical to remove the one who now holds the title of Golden Boot winner.
Castellanos, who finished first in the league in scoring with 22 goals (including playoffs) the previous year while also playing an incredible 3,000 minutes, scored twice in the opening round of the CONCACAF Champions League before the MLS season had even begun.
The Argentine star, who is currently 23 years old, is considered one of the best young players in the league and has a promising career ahead of him. Although it is highly doubtful that Luis Scaloni will wish to bring in new players so soon to the big dance, it is possible that he may be called up to play for Argentina’s national team in the near future. If he can maintain his present level of performance, there is little doubt that he will be in the race for such recognition.
7. Hany Mukhtar (ACM, Nashville SC)
When it comes to making the jump from middling player to league star, Mukhtar’s 2021 season will be difficult to top.
Mukhtar’s career began to take off after a slow start due to the COVID-shortened 2020 season (he scored four goals and handed out three assists in 15 games), but he had a breakout year in 2021 (he scored sixteen goals and handed out ten assists), and he was a major factor in the second half of the season and the playoffs, earning him MVP consideration.
8. Carles Gil (CM, New England Revolution)
Before suffering an injury in August that ended his season, the New England playmaker had a terrific year for the Patriots. At the end of the game, he had four goals and led the league with 18 assists. In spite of this, the Most Valuable Player title for the league went to him.
Gil, who hails from Spain and is currently 29 years old, is unquestionably one of the most dangerous attacking midfielders in the league. He is one of the MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season.
9. Luiz Araujo (FW, Atlanta United)
Araujo rapidly became a fan favorite in the second half of the 2020 season despite the fact that he had just joined the league on August 6, 2021 (when he was signed by the Atlanta Braves), when he had only entered the league. Araujo, who is only 25 years old, is highly adaptable since he can play back in midfield, up forward, or on the right side of the offensive line. This allows the team to utilize him in a number of different positions.
If Araujo is able to recreate his “magic” on the field in 2022, as stated by MLS writer Sam Jones, the forward line for Atlanta United has the potential to be an intimidating attacking force.
10. Maxi Moralez (CM, NYCFC)
Valentin “Taty” Castellanos, who was NYCFC’s best scorer in the previous season, should receive the most of the credit for the club’s success. However, the man who is the actual motor behind the scenes for the current MLS Cup champions is a player who is sometimes forgotten.
When he is playing in the middle of the field, Maxi Moralez is the best passer in the league, and he was the player who changed the game for his side for about 2,800 minutes during the previous season. It is difficult to think that he can keep up such figures at the age of 34, but if he can, NYCFC has a fantastic chance of retaining their title.
Castellanos’s goal tally is extremely reliant on Moralez’s output, much to how each striker is dependant on the contributions of his colleagues.
MLS Top 10 Players For The 2022 Season – mlsbase.com