Houston Dynamo 2024 position breakdown: Attackers
(image via IMAGN)
2023 was a fairly disappointing season for the attacking players in Houston. The only forward who contributed consistently was Corey Baird and he has now gone to Cincinnati in free agency. The drama with Sebastian Ferreira’s lack of contribution loomed over the team for the entire season. There are loads of question marks surrounding this attacking group coming into 2024. Nelson Quinones missing the entire season surely does not help provide any of those answers. Here is what we expect to see from all of the forward players in 2024.
Sebastian Ferreira
2023 was a nightmare season for the Paraguayan forward. He failed to register a single goal in the entire calendar year for both the Dynamo and Vasco de Gama in Brazil. He lost his starting role after the first game of 2023 where he did not look very good at all. 2024 must be the year where he steps up as the only attacking Designated Player the Dynamo have on the roster. He has been scoring goals for fun in preseason so hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Unfortunately, that all may have to wait as Ferreira went down with what looked to be a hamstring injury Tuesday night against St. Louis. Head coach Ben Olsen said Ferreira “probably will be out for quite a bit” meaning an already thin attacking group is now even thinner.
Aliyu Ibrahim
Aliyu came to Houston midway through the 2023 season when the Dynamo desperately needed a forward who could score. He did well initially, but he did come in right after his season in Croatia ended with no real break and that seemed to catch with up him real fast. He seemed to be cursed in front of goal at times with some of the wildest misses you will ever see. This year he has a full offseason under his belt and will be expected to spend more time on the wing with Quinones out for the year. He could also be moved back to the number nine role with Ferreira’s injury, as we saw on Tuesday night in St. Louis. This will be a telling year for his development as the Dynamo desperately need him to step up.
Gabe Segal
Segal has only just been traded to the Dynamo this past week. He was a player that had loads of potential after an excellent run of form in college that saw him get a move to Germany with Koln. It never worked out for there until he got a move to NYCFC where he played alright in a backup role last season. He eventually was loaned out to Hapoel Tel Aviv where he barely played as well. If he can backup Ferreira and provide a few goals off the bench, then this will have been a solid cheap acquisition. If he is asked to start in Ferreira’s place, he will have to get up to speed with the Dynamo system very quickly.
Stephen Annor Gyamfi
The Generation Adidas rookie comes into this year as a big project player for the Dynamo. Don’t expect him to play a lot of minutes, if any at all, this year with the first team. This is a player to watch for the future and to see play for the second team this year. He likely will be the starting forward for Dynamo 2 all season.
Brad Smith
This might be weird to see Brad Smith listed as an attacker, but most of his minutes last season were seen off the bench for Nelson Quinones on the wing. With Nelson’s season-ending injury we might just see more of Brad this season. In his limited game time, Brad put in the most crosses per 90 of any player on the squad. His role again will likely be to come off the bench and provide with and crossing opportunities late in games. However, with Ferreira’s injury, Smith could be pushed into a starting role with Aliyu moving to the number nine.
