Welcome to the 2023 edition of Hudson River Blue’s Midterm Report Cards, in which we analyze and grade New York City FC‘s performances so far this season. Next up: Talles Magno.
Brazilian forward Talles Magno, who many fans expected to lead the NYCFC Playoff charge, has recorded just three goals and one assist in this campaign. The 20-year-old’s output, coupled with stopgap inclusions of many players attempting to fill the No 9 void, have left a lot to be desired from the NYCFC attack.
As NYCFC sit four places outside of the Eastern Conference Playoff positions, fans are voicing their concerns on all areas of the squad, but none more so than the attack. With an annual guaranteed salary just shy of $1.2 million, Talles Magno has done little to justify his place as the club’s third-highest earner this season. The Brazilian has made just 12 league starts in 17 games, and his four total goal involvements see him sit third in the squad rankings behind Santiago Rodriguez (5) and Gabriel Pereira (7). Though the NYCFC offense as a whole has taken a steep decline this season since the departure of Taty Castellanos and Héber, Talles Magno’s form has been particularly poor.
New York City FC 2023 midterm report card
During the 2022 season, Talles Magno started 32 out of 34 league games, registering seven goals and eight assists, while primarily operating along the left wing. The young forward finished the campaign with the second most goals and assists in the squad (16), while also out-performing his expected goals and assists of 14.7. This begs the question, what changed?
Talles Magno has been played out of position to fill the void at No 9. And when he plays in his more natural position on the left wing, he doesn’t have a traditional No 9 in the box to create space for him to exploit.
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As a player who flourishes the most with the ball at his feet and a target man to feed and work off of, his form has been the result of an attempt to make the best of a bad situation. While one can’t blame Talles Magno for the entirety of the squad’s attacking woes, many may argue that he should be able to contribute more to a squad in desperate need of goals. And for that, Talles Magno receives an average grade for the season so far.
I would argue that the 9 position is his best position, but he’s just not finding the space naturally. If he was producing at the 9 spot the club would be in a way better place right now, and business would be booming for him.
a solid C- or D+.
zero capable #9, a meh winger. can’t possess the ball, not really a valuable for a buildup style play. experiment is over. expectation hasn’t met. he’s becoming the Medina #2. pretty sure they have to put him on more game hoping the price tag doesn’t diminish. exactly same situation with Medina. he’ll be hit or miss ’til get sold. the worst dept on him is consistency. i wouldn’t be surprised to see CFG loan him to S America in the summer window. and it’s a good thing for both the team & him. his style will fit better in Argentina or Brazil.