Top scorer rewarded as Miami turns page to Year 2
Inter Miami opened training camp with news of Lewis Morgan’s new contract, outlook on the Blaise Matuidi investigation and Montreal Impact moving to Fort Lauderdale to start MLS season due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
There were three main headlines as Inter Miami opened preseason training camp on Monday morning:
Scottish winger Lewis Morgan signed a new contract. Coach Phil Neville said he expects the MLS investigation of Blaise Matuidi’s contract to be sorted out in five to seven days. And Inter Miami will be sharing its practice facility and stadium with the Montreal Impact starting in April as the Canadian club relocates due to COVID-19 travel restrictions.
Morgan, the team’s most valuable player last season, was rewarded with a new contract that runs through 2023 with an option for an extra year. “I’m definitely not finished here,” Morgan said. “This is where I want to be.”
A year ago, Morgan arrived in camp as a relatively unknown prospect. He went on to lead the team in goals and assists, which led to interest from European clubs.
“This was a reward for Lewis for his outstanding performance last season,” Neville said. “That was the first thing [sporting director] Chris [Henderson] and I agreed on is that this boy had a great season, and we need to keep showing him that this club values him really highly.
“In terms of the signings we made, he’s equally as good, if not better because he’s a
player who’s hungry. I like hungry players. He wants to get better. With Scottish players there’s always that burning desire to be the absolute best. He shows all the attributes of all the great Scottish people I have worked with and from the performances I have seen in training so far, he’s a real leader in the group.”
Morgan said contract talks had been ongoing since the end of last season.
“I’m delighted to be here, we’ve got an exciting year ahead, and I wanted to commit my future to the club because the club has been great to me,” Morgan said. “I think it’s important to repay clubs that show faith in you. There’s still so much growth and improvement left in my game, I feel valued, and this is where I want to be.”
In other news, Neville said he is confident there will be a quick resolution to the MLS investigation into whether Matuidi’s contract signed last summer falls within league roster and budget rules.
“People above me have been really strong and said they will sort this problem out,” Neville said. “My focus is just to prepare the team for preseason. Chris and ownership are speaking daily with the league to sort this problem out. Ultimately, what I see is that nobody within the team has spoken about this and Blaise has been outstanding in terms of his attitude at training. It’s not something I’ve been told I need to worry about.”
League sources said Matiudi will likely be reclassified as a Designated Player, which would allow for higher compensation within the league’s complicated salary structure. Each team can have a maximum of three DPs, so it is possible young DP Matias Pellegrini could be reclassified and compensated through Targeted Allocation Money.
Pellegrini, who turns 21 on Thursday, struggled his rookie season. But Neville
is encouraged by the young Argentine’s attitude.
“What I said to him on Day One is he has to start enjoying his football again, playing with freedom, like he used to do as a kid, when you go out there and express yourself,” Neville said. “When you’re relaxed, you’re happy, you play your best football. He didn’t play his best last year. He was a
boy coming to a new country, new culture, different style of football. What he said to me is that he wants to work as hard as he can and improve. He needs time to develop.”
Finally, following the path of Canadian snowbirds over several decades, the Quebec-based Impact is temporarily relocating to Fort Lauderdale. Due to cross border travel restrictions, the
three Canadian MLS teams — Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal — have had to move to U.S. venues. Last season Montreal played home games at Red Bulls Arena in New Jersey.
The Impact will travel to the United States on April 6 ahead of the league kickoff April 17.
“I want to thank Inter Miami CF for welcoming us. Just like in New Jersey last year with the Red Bulls, we will have access to top infrastructures and favorable weather, which made us choose Florida,” said Montréal sporting director Olivier Renard. “We will do everything in our power to allow the players and the staff to be joined by their families so they can feel good while they are away from home.”
“Montreal and all of our Canadian teams are in a very difficult situation, and we are looking forward to doing everything possible to make this transition as seamless as possible,” added Inter Miami sporting director Henderson. “We are blessed with great facilities and staff members who are ready to support.”
Note: Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender will replace Jonathan Klinsmann in U.S. Under-23 national team training camp in Guadalajara, Mexico in preparation for Olympic qualifying matches. Klinsmann, son of former U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, suffered a concussion. Callender, 6-3, played at Cal-Berkeley and joined Inter Miami in November 2019. The U.S. Under 23 coach is Inter Miami assistant coach Jason Kreis.