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The 2020 MLS season has come to an end and much like we did in 2019 for Sporting Kansas City, it’s time to look back at how each player performed. Keep in mind the stats look diminished for many players, but just 21 regular season games were played in this COVID shortened season (instead of the typical 34). For the full list of players reviewed, head to our dedicated Year in Review page.
- Week One: Alan Pulido, Johnny Russell, Gerso, Khiry Shelton
- Week Two: Gadi Kinda, Roger Espinoza, Ilie Sanchez, Graham Zusi and Matt Besler
- Week Three: Roberto Puncec, Winston Reid, Luis Martins, Amadou Dia and Jaylin Lindsey
- Week Four: Felipe Hernandez, Gianluca Busio, Cameron Duke, Graham Smith and Andreu Fontas
The Blue Testament look back at 2020 is winding down with the league’s first ever “Homegrown” international — Daniel Salloi.
2020 Stats
Games Played (Started): 7 (1)
Minutes Played: 165
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
xG (expected goals): 0.80
Positions Played: Left Wing
2019 Salary: $139,624.9600
2020 Salary: Unknown - But likely at or slightly above 2019.
Contract Through (Option Years): 2021 (None)
Best Moment of 2020
N/A - Daniel Salloi barely played in 2020 (after getting plenty of opportunities in 2019). When he did play, he never could quite get into a rhythm (which is admittedly tough with so few minutes). There was talk ahead of the season that Salloi was prepared to overcome his bad 2019 and that simply didn’t happen. There were flashes but then all the limited opportunities were missed.
Worst Moment of 2020
The pandemic altering the schedule and minutes. Specifically, I’d like to have seen Daniel Salloi on loan with Sporting KC II. I firmly believe he just needs to get his confidence back. You don’t simply forget how to score goals. It’s hard to do that when loans cannot happen back and forth with the second team and there are no minutes when you are the 6th forward in the 2020 lineup (behind Pulido, Russell, Shelton, Gerso and Hurtado — hell they played Gadi Kinda as a false 9 ahead of Salloi, so maybe he was 7th on the depth chart).
Interesting Stat
0.05. That’s Salloi’s goals per 90 minutes played since the end of the 2018 season. Only a single goal was scored in the penultimate game of 2019 and of course none in 2020 in limited minutes. As of right now it could be argued he’s the fourth forward on the depth chart. That’s concerning.
Fan Vote Results
Pick up 2021 Option: 24.0%
Decline 2021 Option: 57.0%
Pick up 2021 Option and Sell: 19.0%
It turns out, after we put out this poll, it came to light that Daniel Salloi had previously had his option picked up after the 2018 season. Converting his deal into being guaranteed instead of year-to-year. However, it’s no surprise after these last two years that the majority of the voters wanted to move on from Salloi.
Instead, it appears Sporting KC may have moved on from Gerso Fernandes. No word on if Erik Hurtado will return at this time. The starters at forward currently appear to be Alan Pulido, Khiry Shelton and Johnny Russell. The only other signed forwards on the roster are two Homegrowns to have never appeared in a first-team game — Wilson Harris and Tyler Freeman. Peter Vermes has indicated the team is still shopping for players, but Salloi being so near the starting lineup without proving he’s been deserving could be cause for concern.