Houston Dynamo 2024 position breakdown: Midfielders

(image via IMAGN)

Last season the Dynamo managed to go from a team with a terrible midfield in 2022 to one of the most dominant midfields in MLS in 2023. New defensive midfielder Artur came in and breathed new life into both Hector Herrera and Coco Carrasquilla along with Amine Bassi stepping into an advanced midfield role where he scored ten goals. Luis Caicedo was another regular contributor to that midfield when he would step into Herrera’s role or come in to close out. Unfortunately, it looks as though Caicedo is no longer with the Dynamo and Herrera will miss a portion of the season with an injury. Here is what to expect from the midfielders that will feature for the Dynamo in 2024

Hector Herrera

Let’s start with Herrera, who will be missing a chunk of the season with what looks like a knee injury based on his social media posts. He was the main man last season contributing with a team high 17 assists. The Dynamo with and without Herrera are almost a completely different team. The MLS Best XI midfielder will be a huge miss but will be the team’s biggest asset when he returns.

Artur

Artur had what might have been the best year of his career in 2023. He was the glue that held the midfield together and allowed Coco, Herrera, and Bassi the freedom to create and score goals. He is one of those players that rarely ever gives you a weak performance and that high standard is to be expected once again this season.

Coco Carrasquilla

Coco will likely be deployed on the right wing once again this season but in that position, he does drift inside as an attacking midfielder alongside Bassi. Coco is a player that has been hot and cold throughout most of his career in Houston. He excels in transition and gives loads of energy off the ball but his ability in the box has always been his weakness. Hopefully he can take another big leap and add on to his three goals and eight assists from last season.

Amine Bassi

The penalty king comes into 2024 with a lot to prove as he struggled to perform in many games last season where there were no penalty kicks to score. He had some streaks where he was everywhere in the final third creating multiple opportunities per game and then there were times where he would disappear for entire games. 2024 has to be the year he can prove that he can be a starting attacking midfielder in this league at a high level. He will have Sebastian Kowalczyk breathing down his neck with every game.

Sebastian Kowalczyk

Sebastian was a late addition to the 2023 roster when he was signed in August. As he was a late season acquisition, he had a hard time getting the playing time he would have wanted. In his limited game time, he was always a bright spot and showed the potential ability to take over a starting role. He will be competing with Bassi for that attacking midfield position and will also be expected to play minutes out wide and in deeper midfield positions.

Jan Gregus

One of the new signings for 2024, Gregus is expected to play loads of minutes early in the season while Hector Herrera is absent. Gregus is a former Designated Player for Minnesota United and he was one of the best deep lying midfielders in MLS for a short stint. As of late, he has struggled to hold down a significant role with San Jose, Nashville, and then in his return to Minnesota. If he could do a job filling in for Hector for a few months, then this will have been a superb signing.

Brooklyn Raines

One man who would not like to see Gregus get significant minutes is Brooklyn Raines. The fan base hoped to see Raines earn lots of playing time in 2023 but that never seemed to happen. He got some action earlier in the season playing the wide midfield role that Coco plays now. He was mostly a ghost in those few appearances. He did score the important winning goal against Tampa Bay that led to the Dynamo’s Open Cup trophy. Whether he is playing for the first team or the second team, 2024 will be a huge year for his development. With Herrera out, he really needs to step up into a better player because if not now, then when will he?