Crew aims for younger roster

Despite having a roster that nearly made the MLS Cup two years ago and reached the conference semifinals last season, coach Caleb Porter, president Tim Bezbatchenko and technical director Pat Onstad knew the Crew had to get younger as they looked to mold the roster in their collective vision.

Porter believes two moves, made Monday and Tuesday, show the type of player the club is looking for, especially 20-year-old Costa Rica winger Luis Diaz.

“He’s certainly going to need some time to continue to develop because he’s 20 years old, but he’s already played a lot of first-team games, so it’s not like he’s a 20-year-old that’s never

played,” Porter said. “He will definitely be a threat right away and he’ll definitely be a guy that will look to run behind and create problems. Teams are going to have to worry about him.”

The Crew announced the signing of Diaz as a permanent transfer Tuesday from club C.S. Herediano in Costa Rica. A source told The Dispatch that the Crew paid a $1 million transfer fee for Diaz, who signed a deal through the 2021 season with a club option for two additional years.

The day before, the Crew acquired forward Romario Williams from Atlanta United for $100,000 in general allocation money, which is the same amount the Crew received for trading Justin Meram to Atlanta in May.

Porter said Tuesday he expects Diaz, a young designated player, to play immediately when the transfer window opens Tuesday. Diaz has made 66 appearances in the Costa Rican top league, scoring three goals with eight assists, and was named to the national team provisional roster for the Gold Cup.

“We talked about even before the season started that we wanted to add a winger profile like Luis Diaz,” Porter said. “We’re real excited to have him because he’s 20 years old, because he’s a real talent, he’s an asset.”

Williams, who has limited Major League Soccer experience,

will add depth behind starting striker Gyasi Zardes and should slot in ahead of veteran Patrick Mullins while rookie JJ Williams continues to develop. Williams, 24, has 13 appearances with the Jamaican national team but hasn’t gotten a lot of time in MLS yet. Porter said Williams is the type of profile the