New England Revolution Acquisition Could Be Stroke Of Genius
New England Revolution Acquisition Could Be Stroke Of Genius As Latif Blessing Brings Game Changing Ability
Just two days after writing that the New England Revolution off-season has been abnormally quiet the team makes a major move. On Tuesday the club announced that it had acquired midfielder Latif Blessing from Los Angeles Football Club. In exchange, the Revs sent LAFC $400,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money and could send additional GAM if Blessing surpasses certain performance-based thresholds.
“Latif Blessing will be a very good addition to our team. He is a veteran MLS player with championship caliber experience,” Revolution Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena said via team press release. “Latif’s speed and quickness are welcomed characteristics for our midfield. We look forward to his arrival in preseason.”
The 26-year-old Blessing has been with LAFC since the 2018 MLS Expansion Draft. Blessing was a sparkplug for LA appearing in 145 matches and logging 9,749 minutes and tallying 23 assists and scoring 14 goals. Prior to joining LAFC he came to MLS with Sporting Kansas City in 2017 after starting his career in the Ghana Premier League where he won the player of the year award in 2016.
Blessing Wanted Out Of Los Angeles
Blessing despite being from Ghana does occupy a green card which means he will occupy just a senior roster spot instead of an international slot. The midfielder had requested a trade from LAFC which the club obliged.
“This was a very difficult decision for us,” LAFC Co-President & General Manager John Thorrington said via a team release. “Latif Blessing is a player who will always be remembered as an LAFC original and someone who helped build this Club both on the field and off. His connection with our fans and community is unmatched. Latif approached the Club requesting a trade, and we are happy that we were able to find a solution that helps Latif in several ways, including with a personal family situation. This is not easy, and we want to thank Latif for all of his contributions to LAFC.”
Anyone who watched LAFC since they came into the league knows the impact that Blessing can bring to the field. He was a fixture during Bob Bradley’s tenure in the midfield but in 2022 under Steve Cherundolo, he saw an MLS career-low 1,332 minutes played.
Blessing came into the league as a winger but with LAFC he was deployed primarily as a midfielder but also saw some time at right-back under Bradley. Last season his time went down over the course of the season under Cherundolo with Blessing becoming the fourth option in the midfield behind IIie Sanchez, Kellyn Acosta, and Jose Cifuentes. During LA’s MLS Cup winning run Blessing did not play a single post-season minute.
Biggest Offseason Move So Far
Obviously, a lot to unpack with Blessing clearly calling for a change in scenery. During his action in 2022 Blessing was an effective player. If Blessing is able to fit in and find happiness playing with the Revolution then this could be a move we all look back on as being a stroke of genius by Bruce Arena. This is a clear improvement in their midfield and Blessing does provide some positional versatility to give depth at other positions of potential need (wing, right-back).
This is the biggest offseason acquisition the Revolution have made which speaks to how quiet their offseason has been.
Ingoing Transactions:
Free agents: Santiago Suarez
Inter League Trade: Latif Blessing
MLS Re-entry Draft: Bobby Wood
MLS Super Draft: Joshua Bolma, Victor Souza, Andreas Ueland
Total: 6
Blessing and the rest of the club will report to Foxborough for MLS preseason starting on January 9th.