Looking back on Charlotte FC’s busy offseason ahead of the season opener
It’s a new era for Charlotte FC entering their third season in MLS, highlighted by a new manager and the loss of two designated players.
New manager
Entering their third season in MLS, Charlotte FC hired Dean Smith as the club’s new manager. Smith has more than a decade of managerial experience, most notably taking over Aston Villa in 2018 and helping them get promoted to the English Premier League.
Departures
Charlotte FC is left with just one of their three designated player spots filled after the departure of forward Karol Świderski and winger Kamil Jóźwiak. Świderski joined Serie A side Hellas Verona on a loan deal until June 30, 2024, with an option to buy. Jóźwiak joined La Liga side Granada CF on a permanent transfer. With the departure of Świderski and Jóźwiak, Enzo Copetti remains as the lone designated player for Charlotte.
Two more notable departures from Charlotte FC were the transfers of defender Guzmán Corujo and forward Vinicius Mello both joining Serbian club FK Čukarički on permanent transfers.
Charlotte also lost midfielder Derrick Jones and winger Justin Meram to free agency, as well as declining the contract options of defender Harrison Afful, midfielder Chris Hegardt, goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega, defender Jan Sobociński and goalkeeper Adrian Zendejas. Winger McKinze Gaines was traded to Nashville SC for a second-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft.
Acquisitions
Charlotte FC acquired many new players in the offseason. Starting with the MLS SuperDraft, Charlotte made four selections. Charlotte’s first selection came after trading for the 14th pick to select 21-year-old winger Tyger Smalls out of Loyola Marymount. Following the first round, Charlotte went on to select 21-year-old defender Jahlane Forbes out of Wake Forest and 22-year-old forward Jacob Babalai out of Portland in the second round, then selected 19-year-old midfielder Nathan Richmond out of Clemson in the third round.
Charlotte signed four players from their MLS Next Pro team, Crown Legacy FC. 21-year-old goalkeeper Chituru Odunze, 20-year-old defender João Pedro, 22-year-old forward Iuri Tavares and 20-year-old midfielder Nikola Petković all join the Charlotte FC first team after spending time with Crown Legacy in 2023.
Charlotte has completed the signing of three other players this offseason outside of the MLS SuperDraft and Crown Legacy players. 34-year-old free agent goalkeeper David Bingham signed with Charlotte FC following his 2023 campaign with the Portland Timbers where he made 19 starts and kept five clean sheets.
26-year-old midfielder Djibril Diani was acquired from French club SM Caen. Diani made 50 appearances for Caen after joining the club in January 2022.
The most recent signing that Charlotte made was that of 34-year-old midfielder Júnior Urso. Charlotte acquired Urso’s right to first refusal from Orlando City SC for $50,000 of general allocation money in 2025. Urso brings MLS experience to Charlotte, having made over 100 total appearances with Orlando City, including starting in the U.S. Open Cup final in 2022.
Charlotte FC begins their 2024 season with a match against New York City FC on Saturday, February 24. The match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Bank of America Stadium and streaming on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
