Galaxy coach Greg Vanney admitted that he’s going to have to make a decision regarding the goalkeeper position.
John McCarthy, 32, who anchored the team last year, is back and in the final year of his contract
Novak Micovic, 23, who was the No. 2 last year, is back.
Brady Scott, 25, had his contract option picked up and he returns.
In an offseason move, the Galaxy signed JT Marcinkowski, 27, to a two-year contract through 2026 with an option.
“That’s a lot of keepers,” Vanney said. “We’ll see. Again, it’s a new season, so it’s a bit of a competition there.
“We obviously know what J-Mac (John McCarthy) brings to the equation, because he was excellent last year and doing the job we needed him to do. Novak is a guy that we believe in his upside and his potential, so we want to continue to see what his growth looks like. JT brings another guy with experience. He’s kind of on a bounce-back off of a tough couple of years of rehabilitation.
“We will see how preseason plays out, how everybody is doing through the course of the preseason and I figure I’m going to have to make some tough decisions on who’s in the net and then will we see how everything plays out around that.”
Marcinkowski was San Jose’s No. 1 goalkeeper in 2021 and 2022. He made just 13 appearances in 2023, eventually undergoing multi-ligament repair and reconstruction surgery on his right knee. He missed all of 2024.
Scott didn’t make a first-team appearance. His playing time (28 games) came in MLS Next Pro with Galaxy II/Ventura County FC.
Dejan Joveljic on the move?
Joveljic, who scored 21 goals across all competitions last season, has caught the interest of Liga MX’s Tigres.
Reports out of Mexico say the club has offered $5 million for Joveljic. The 25-year-old forward is in the final year of his contract. He made a base salary of $683,750 last season.
“I’m very much a Murphy’s Law kind of guy, whatever can go wrong, will go wrong,” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said of teams looking to purchase his club’s talent. “Our job is to prepare for everything. For every player to be gone … what does it mean if he leaves now, the summer or next year? You have to be prepared for all potential scenarios.”
Lucas Sanabria on the way
Or that’s what he said on his Instagram account Thursday. The 25-year-old midfielder from Nacional in Uruguay’s top division has been a Galaxy target for weeks. Kuntz said last week he was hopeful things would get done “sooner rather than later.”
It appears sooner is the answer.
Nacional already posted their goodbye to Sanabria, saying that the Galaxy are paying a $6 million-plus transfer fee.
As of Thursday, the Galaxy said the move was yet to be finalized.
Preseason games
The Galaxy open their four-game preseason schedule Wednesday at Coachella Valley against Austin FC (11 a.m.), followed by Charlotte (10 a.m. Feb. 9), Minnesota United (11 a.m. Feb. 12) and Chicago (noon Feb. 15).