Three big questions for the 2026 LA Galaxy
With preseason ramping up, now’s the time to discuss the biggest “What ifs?” for the Blue White and Gold.
Can the club replace Riqui Puig?
After the club spent the 2025 season in a holding pattern anticipating Riqui Puig’s return to action, the nightmare scenario unfolded as Riqui ruptured his ACL again and now the Galaxy can no longer stand pat.
To the club’s credit they’ve been busy this winter, shoring up the back line with the major acquisitions of Jakob Glesnes and Justin Haak. Incoming No. 9 João Klauss has the potential to be prolific in the Galaxy attack.
If you’re expecting the club to sign a like-for-like replacement for Riqui however, you might be disappointed.
“Riqui is irreplaceable,” general manager Will Kuntz flatly stated at Galaxy media availability. “That’s the key thing. We don’t think that we can replace Riqui with any amount of money. And if we try to replace Riqui, we are going to lead ourselves into a really bad situation, because Riqui is 1 for 1.”
Kuntz understandably struck a risk-averse tone during availability, noting the difficulties of shuffling the roster around to sign an extra Designated Player.
Recent history has shown the “Rent a DP” approach doesn’t really work either. LAFC for example brought in Cengiz Under until the summer in an attempt to keep a DP spot warm for Antoine Griezmann. (They eventually signed Son Heung-Min)
It didn’t work.
Same goes for bringing in an extra U-22 player. Admittedly, Inter Miami were probably happy to loan Toto Aviles to Montreal, but they likely could have commanded a higher purchase option if they didn’t have an extra U-22 on the roster, essentially forcing Inter to sell and conceding much of their leverage in the process.
It seems the offseason moves aren’t about replacing an irreplaceable player, but rather building on the squad’s success the second half of the year.
All that being said, Kuntz did mention the club was looking for two attacking pieces, one of whom is Klauss. So we’ll see.
Update: The Galaxy have signed free agent Erik Thommy.
What happens if LA gets off to a slow start?
The 2025 season was hell for Greg Vanney. No Riqui Puig to start followed by the loss of key attacking personnel and the limited availability of Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil to begin the year…it all proved too much for the Galaxy manager to overcome as LA finished second to last in the West.
However the club never wavered in their support of Vanney, who was given a contract extension despite overseeing an historic 16-game winless streak that effectively ended the season.
Keeping the Galaxy manager was the right call. Though the discontent among the fanbase was sizable, it never really snowballed into the avalanche of criticism that might justify a dismissal. (FWIW the pundit and media classes mostly sympathized with the brutal hand Vanney had been dealt)
It’s likely the club made the calculation that results could have been better, but even if the 2025 squad lived up to expectations, it’s highly unlikely a team projected to finish on the fringes of the playoffs would have won silverware.
Joseph Paintsil is looking to bounce back from a disappointing year.
photo courtesy LA Galaxy
Despite Riqui’s injury, there is good news. By the end of the season the Galaxy had seemingly learned to play without their talisman, going 7-6-5 down the stretch and giving Toluca a real scare in the Campeones Cup. Vanney also had the foresight to play the kids at the tail end of the season, a move that should benefit midfielder Elijah Wynder in particular.
This season, Vanney’s main objective is building on LA’s form at the end of the year.
One thing’s for certain: Riqui’s absence cannot be used as an excuse. If the Galaxy get off to a slow start, expect the calls for a coaching change to only grow louder.
Which young guns will step up?
Goalkeeper Novak Micovic collects in the air.
photo courtesy LA Galaxy
Last season Vanney strongly emphasized the importance of roster depth to handle this year’s compressed league schedule thanks to the World Cup break.
If the club wants to make the leap from playoff team to competing with the league’s elite however, one of the younger players will need to step up. Preferably several of them.
Matias Nascimento and Lucas Sanabria will benefit from a full preseason and their experience playing in Vanney’s system, though the arrival of João Klauss complicates things for Nasci who needs to perform to justify the club paying his purchase option.
Novak Micovic was ok but not great. Can the young Serbian keeper show more consistency and a bit more divisiveness to establish himself as the No. 1?
Hopefully Elijah Wynder, who blossomed into a formidable two-way midfielder by the end of the season, picks up where he left off and continues developing. If Harbor Miller can take the next step, that could give the club the ability to move a right back. Even Justin Haak has the potential to improve.
If a few of these guys level up, it could do wonders for the group.