Minnesota United midfielder Sang Bin Jeong runs across the field during the second half of an MLS soccer match against FC Dallas in St. Paul, Minn., Sunday, April 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
There were two new faces on the practice field for ӣƵ City SC on Tuesday as the team’s summer transfer window acquisitions began arriving.
Forward Sangbin Jeong and left back Devin Padelford trained with the team, and interim coach David Critchley said Jeong, whom the team paid Minnesota $1.6 million to acquire, could be on the roster when City SC faces his old team on Saturday at Energizer Park.
“Absolutely,” Critchley said. “We'll see how he adjusts to the training week and coming into our environment, but if he comes in and he does well and trains well, there'll be an opportunity for him.”
The team announced the Jeong acquisition on Monday and Padelford on Tuesday, but the two had flown down to ӣƵ together, went through an orientation on Monday and trained Tuesday. Padelford is here on loan through the end of 2025, though City SC also gave Minnesota its third-round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. The team's other transfer signing, defender Fallou Fall, is still working through the visa and work permit process.
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“Sangbin is going to be a good, pacey wide player for us,” Critchley said. “He's good at attacking in 1 v. 1, he can stretch a game and get in behind. So we're happy with his profile.
“If he's going to be a starter for us in the attack on wide areas, he needs to be good at 1 v. 1s, taking on defenders, being brave, having good finishing qualities. He had one in the training session today that he just cut inside and put in the top corner on his right foot. So I saw already that glimpse of a special player. It's just going to be being aggressive on the attacking side. On the defending side, we want to press the lines higher. We want to be aggressive. We want to close down space, we profiled him as one of those players. So I'm hoping to see that.”
“Super-, super-fast, very dynamic player,” said Padelford, who has played and trained alongside Jeong since he came over from South Korea in 2023. “I think the way Coach Critchley wants to play is super-aggressive pressing. I think he'll fit perfectly for that with his speed and his power.”
Padelford is in a different position. He’s played only four MLS games this season, compared to seven MLS Next Pro games, after making 19 starts for Minnesota last season. Padelford has more MLS starts than City SC’s other two left back options, Jaziel Orozco and Jayden Reid. Critchley said he will help with depth.
“Devin's a good addition for the depth chart for us,” Critchley said, “and to see where he slides into the group will be an interesting project for him, but we're excited. He's very athletic, he's very aggressive. He fits the profile of a defender that we're looking for.”
“I think it's always tough when inconsistencies come in,” Padelford said, “thinking you're going to play after having, I thought, last year a successful season individually. But it's a part of being a player, and I think it's all about how you respond and just trying to keep pushing forward each day, because in this business, things change quickly. And I guess it was to come to ӣƵ this time, and I'm super-excited and super-fortunate.”
And in a twist of fate, Jeong and Padelford could see action against their former team less than a week after leaving.
“I was saying goodbye to all those guys,” Padelford said, “and it's like, ‘Wait, I'll see you next weekend.’ So it'll be really interesting to see them pretty quickly. I'm super-excited, and obviously, hopefully, if I can get some game time in that, it'd be super-fun.”
On the mend
Midfielder Chris Durkin returned to practice on Tuesday, though he sat out some drills. Still, Critchley thinks his return to the lineup for the first time since May 31 is at hand.
“We hope so,” Critchley said. “I know we've said that one a few times with Chris, but I’m more optimistic this week than I've been in the recent past. We'll integrate him slowly back into the team now, throughout the week, some drills non-contact, some when it becomes contact, we remove him and let him work on his cardio.”
A few other players, Eduard Lowen, Alfredo Morales, Celio Pompeu and Jake Girdwood-Reich, sat out the contact drills. Lowen is the only one who played at Dallas, and the team is being cautious with the hamstring that kept him out more than a month. The others are making progress.
“Just for precautionary (reasons) the first day back,” Critchley said. “All of them are right now medically close to being in the picture for the weekend. So I'll just see how they respond for the week of training.”
Short and sweet
Critchley said the film review of the Dallas game, one of the most disappointing efforts by the team this season, was brief.
“In that meeting behind closed doors," Critchley said, "I said it stays there, but let's all be vulnerable now. Let's take accountability. And several guys raised their arms and admitted to where they were at fault for maybe not scoring a goal, or maybe the goal we conceded, and it was good in there for them to be accountable so I don't have to point the blame on anybody at that point.
"These guys are fully aware that that performance from the team standpoint was not good enough, and now we've got to try and find a way to pick them back up and go forward. We don't want to dwell on the past too long. We're in a position now where every single game is super-, super-important for us. We all know that. So the full focus now is Minnesota.”
All-Star Game on Wednesday
The MLS All-Star Game is Wednesday night in Austin, Texas. No City SC players were chosen for this year’s team after having at least one player in each of the first two seasons. (The 30 players selected come from 16 teams, so just under half the league isn’t represented.)
The broadcast of the game is available for free on Apple TV+.
