Morning Kick Around: Big names linked to MLS

By now, everyone has said their piece on New York City FC signing Spanish international forward David Villa as their first player. Adding a player of his quality will certainly bring some much needed attention and star power to MLS, but the list doesn’t stop there. Major League Soccer sides have thrown their name in the hat for multiple big-name players.

Here is just a few:

Xavi Hernandez

After David Villa landed in NYC and discussions had taken place between the club and Frank Lampard, a stalwart on the English national team, Xavi’s name came up as another potential target. The Spanish midfielder has spent his entire club career at FC Barcelona, so despite the fact that he is currently 34, he will be a huge upgrade over the prototypical MLS central midfielder.

In 133 career caps, Xavi netted 13 goals for Spain. In addition, he managed to find the back of the net four times in 47 appearances for Barcelona last season.

Regardless of what else NYCFC does via the transfer market, adding Lampard and/or Xavi to a forward with the quality of David Villa, and the team will play exciting and attractive soccer in their first MLS season.

Frank Lampard

Like Xavi, Lampard has been linked to NYCFC, but for a much longer period of time. The NYCFC-Lampard rumors surfaced weeks ago, and with the 36-year old looking for a new club team after playing for Chelsea, a move to the MLS would be extremely lucrative.

Jun 4, 2014; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; England forward Frank Lampard (8) controls the ball against the Ecuador during the second half at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Lampard is coming of a down year for his standards in the English Premier League. In 40 matches for Chelsea, he found the goal eight times. However, the English midfielder scored an outrageous 17 goals in 50 caps just a season ago. If you have not noticed by now, NYCFC has every intention on winning the MLS Cup in its first year in the league.

Michael Farfan

Yes, Michael Farfan may be back in Philadelphia. After being let go by the Liga MX side Cruz Azul, the midfielder began training with his former MLS club, the Philadelphia Union.

Farfan would be able to provide some much needed depth for Jim Curtin‘s side, but it would be interesting to see how he would be used. As a natural central attacking midfielder, you would have to believe Farfan would start on the bench due to the success of Vincent Noguiera, despite the fact that he has missed two consecutive matches due to injury. However, Farfan has spent some time on the wings and could ultimately spell Danny Cruz or eventually take over that spot full-time. Cruz has had a good season thus far since being inserted into the line-up so finding a spot for Farfan may be harder than people think.

Joe Cole

Cole, who formerly played for Chelsea, is looking for a new club, and his agent has shopped him to multiple MLS squads. After being cut from West Ham, a move to MLS makes sense, but no teams have been linked to the English midfielder.

DaMarcus Beasley

Beasley has been linked to MLS for sometime now, and it had been reported that it was nearly a guarantee that he would sign on shortly after returning from the World Cup in Brazil. After a good individual showing, expect multiple teams to be in lines for his services, but Chicago Fire and NYCFC are both interested.

Sporting Kansas City

While nobody knows for sure who it is, Sporting KC CEO, Robb Heineman has confirmed that the club will be unveiling a new signing within the next two weeks.

After an impressive display from the US national team in Brazil, there is little doubt that the quality of MLS has drastically improved over the years, and with more and more talented players coming to America, the product will only get better.