What does Latif Blessing bring to the Houston Dynamo?
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo acquired Latif Blessing from Toronto FC in exchange for 75K in General Allocation Money earlier this week. Blessing is coming off a strange season where he played the first half with New England and was traded midseason to Toronto. Latif has a cap hit of 600k and will maintain an international roster spot. Let’s take a look at what Latif Blessing can add to this roster that massively needs reinforcements.
Who is Latif Blessing?
Latif Blessing has been known as one of the most versatile players within Major League Soccer over the last handful of seasons. He began his MLS career with Sporting Kansas City where he was deployed mostly as a winger. Blessing’s strengths were his ability to be a nuisance off the ball in the pressing game and his ability to keep the ball at his feet with both excellent short passing and dribbling ability. When he made the move to LAFC in the 2018 expansion draft, Bob Bradley saw Blessing as a potential midfielder in his team that would look to control possession. This was a similar move to what Caleb Porter did with Darlington Nagbe back in 2016. Like Nagbe, this decision paid off big time, leading to multiple playoff appearances and an eventual MLS Cup victory in 2022. Blessing has also been utilized higher up the field as an attacking midfielder as well as playing right back for LAFC.
Where does he fit?
So where does he fit in Houston’s depth chart? Coach Ben Olsen spoke this afternoon about Blessing playing as an 8, a 10, and in Coco’s inverted winger position. We all know that Coco will miss loads of games due to his commitments with Panama over the summer, so this makes perfect sense to utilize Blessing when the time comes. Coco will not be gone all year, however, so where does Blessing fit in alongside Coco? The next best option for Blessing could be as a center midfielder alongside Artur while Hector Herrera is sidelined. The team has desperately been searching for who can play that role this season. So far, we have seen both Brooklyn Raines and Jan Gregus fill that position. Brooklyn has the engine for the position but lacks the on-ball ability while Jan seems to be the complete opposite. Blessing offers an incredible engine while being able to create on the ball. He might not have as expansive of a passing range as Jan but he will be able to play a bigger role running with the ball in midfield. There is also a chance we can see Blessing play as an out and out winger to move Aliyu back to the striker position. I only see that happening if there are somehow even more injuries to come.
How does this affect future transfers?
While Blessing does hold a large cap impact, he is only on a one-year deal, so that can be negotiated later in the season or in the off-season. The Dynamo will still have room to utilize their last U22 roster spot as well as a Young Designated Player, or maybe even a full Designated Player if the potentials rumors are true. The Dynamo freed up two more international slots this off-season with both Amine Bassi and Hector Herrera receiving green cards, so the international roster spot should not be a huge deal. MLS has also changed the rules this year, so that if Blessing gets a green card this season, they can open that international spot. Expect more reinforcements to be coming shortly in the attacking areas of the field.
