Age: 25
Position: Right Wing, Left Wing
Key Stat: 30 – that's the total number of minutes played in three appearances for NYCFC last year
When Alonso Martínez signed with New York City FC last August, it looked like the front office was doing smart business.
The team's sputtering attack never fully recovered from the mid-season departure of Gabriel Pereira, who finished the year as New York City's leading goal-scorer despite moving to Qatar after Matchday 24. It couldn't hurt to add another winger or two.
Which is exactly what NYCFC did. Not only did they sign Martínez, they signed 19-year-old Julián Fernández from Vélez Sarsfield in Argentina. Before Martínez even joined New York City, he was dropping down the depth chart.
Crowded on the wings
Martínez only made three appearances for NYCFC last year, logging just 30 minutes total. It's hard to judge somebody's quality after so little action. But still, Cushing choose to play either Fernández or Andres Jasson, the NYCFC Homegrown who started to show his potential at the end of the season, rather than Martínez.
Since then, the club added two more wingers. New York City signed Hannes Wolf from Borussia Mönchengladbach in January and Augustín "Trapito" Ojeda from Racing Club de Avellaneda earlier this month.
Both can play on the left or the right. And both arrive with a good-sized helping of hype.
For Wolf, it's about his unrealized potential. The 24-year-old was once considered a breakout star for the Austria national football team, but he struggled to find playing time last year while on loan to Swansea City in the EFL Championship. Still, Wolf appeared in all three of NYCFC's preseason games at the Coachella Valley Invitational: Cushing looks interested.
For Trapito, it's about his promise. The 19-year-old is considered to be the brightest prospect to come out of Racing in recent years, the jewel of the academy. There's a reason why sporting director David Lee paid a reported $5.5 million transfer fee to sign Ojeda.
Fifth-choice?
That pushes Martínez even farther down the depth chart. Right now, he's the fifth-choice winger.
Still, the MLS season is long, and a lot of it takes place in the tropical heat of summer. Martínez could yet find playing time in 2024.
But he's unlikely to make much of an impact on a youthful team that will want to rack up results right away, and build chemistry in a squad that has an eye on future seasons.
