With the 2015 NWSL season in the books, the time has come for players to begin making moves and teams to start locking in their rosters for 2016. For the Portland Thorns, the current rumor is that the team will be without their star player and attacker in the form of Alex Morgan.
Fresh off the news of an Orlando expansion in the NWSL (not too surprising considering the introduction of the Orlando team into the MLS), word is that Alex Morgan will be trading in the Pacific Northwest for the sunny beaches of Florida. Considering the fan-base that the Thorns provide and the status of Alex Morgan, it would only have been a direct request from Morgan herself that would see the Thorns let their prized asset wander away. The general consensus seems to be that Morgan wished to be closer to her husband, Servando Carrasco, and his current MLS club (Orlando City), which would be a fairly understandable reason for Morgan to make the transfer request.
Although it might seem like a devastating blow to the Thorns, the rumored payback from Orlando feels more than adequate. While Morgan, at 26, is still in the early portion of her career and one of the few players able to drum up attendance and merchandise sales, the rumored trade would see Portland receiving Orlando’s first pick in the NWSL draft, two international slots, and USWNT left-back Meghan Klingenberg. There is also the possibility of snagging Lindsay Horan from PSG, but the move would be up to the player as Horan has not yet decided to actually play in the NWSL. If you have followed Klingenberg on any form of social media, it will be loads of fun to see such an animated player get to perform in front of the fan-base provided by the Thorns.
There is also no doubt that the Thorns will still be one of the NWSL clubs with the best fan support and attendance…no matter who is in the starting eleven.
For Orlando, it feels like the perfect move to get your club started off on the right foot. There are few in the world that are currently better at any position than Morgan, and the potential is certainly there for Morgan to become the world’s best for many seasons to come. The only big issue is that Morgan, much like international teammate Sydney Leroux, has recently become a bit of an injury-prone player, which will certainly be an issue for a team trading away so many assets in order to get a player like Morgan.
The trade has yet to be finalized and we will definitely have to wait a few years before we see the complete impact of such a move, but this is definitely the most high-profile move the young league has seen. What are your thoughts? Who wins in this move? Is Morgan making the right move here?
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