Charlotte FC to begin talks with Wilfried Zaha
The star winger’s future is one of CLT’s big questions; Plus: a new Agyemang emerging, advancing home opener vs. Austin
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As Charlotte FC heads into Saturday’s home opener, questions swirl about its future roster — and Zaha’s fate
Three games into the season, Charlotte FC opens at Bank of America Stadium already knee deep in questions. How will they account for the loss of center back Adilson Malanda? Can their midfield generate more offense without springing holes on defense? And the zinger: How long is Wilfried Zaha going to be here?
Charlotte FC’s first bona fide superstar, with an English Premier League pedigree, is on loan through June 30. That gets Charlotte FC to the World Cup break. Then what?
General manager Zoran Krneta set off some alarm bells early this week with a relatively terse response to a question Monday from TopBin90’s Brian Maurer about whether the club had begun contract conversations with Zaha.
“We haven’t even started,” Krneta said. “I’m waiting for Wilfried to start scoring goals and assists rather than discussing a new contract. I think first comes first, and this is a team.”
Two days later, on Wednesday, when meeting with a selected group of journalists, Krneta responded to a Ledger follow-up question by saying the comments were out of context. At the very least, it’s fair to say he hadn’t been in the frame of mind to talk about contracts, still feeling the effects of the 3-0 loss in L.A., not to mention jet lag.
“The issue with Wilfred’s contract is that his representatives were not around, and one of them arrived today,” he added. “They’ll be here. So we’ll sit down and talk. There was never an issue [of if] we wanted to talk. We want to talk. What will happen? I can’t tell you, because there are going to be negotiations and prolonged [negotiations]. We’ll see what happens. But we like him. He’s done really well last season for us, in my opinion. We’ll see what happens in the next weeks. I think there will be a better picture in the next three, four weeks.”
Krneta predicted the ultimate decision will not come down to a dollar figure.
“This is not a money situation, whatsoever,” Krneta said. “From day one, when I joined this organization, money was never the issue. We have an owner [David Tepper] who has a successful business, and he never shies away from spending money when money needs to be spent. This is not a money situation. It’s just a question of happiness and who wants to be where. There’s always two to tango. Eighteen months ago, that two-to-tango perfectly fit. Let’s see if it’s going to be the case again.”
Twellman on Zaha: he needs to do more
Apple TV’s lead MLS analyst Taylor Twellman made the rounds with Charlotte media this week, looking ahead to the 2026 All-Star game here and other soccer-related topics. He’s been outspoken about Zaha in the past, so it was a good time to get his thoughts.
He gave Krneta the benefit of the doubt on the tone of his initial comments, but interestingly, Twellman said he thought Zaha needed to produce more than his 10-goal, 10-assist contribution a year ago.
“Those are legitimate numbers,” Twellman said. “Those are good numbers, solid numbers. Charlotte needs more, though. They need 30 goal contributions. I believe a player of that talent, that’s not asking a lot, if it’s 20 goals, 10 assists, if it’s 15 [goals] 15 [assists], whatever it is, but they need a little bit more.”
Twellman put Zaha’s chance of returning to Charlotte FC at 50/50.
“It’s very interesting,” Twellman said. “They potentially this summer could have two designated player spots open.”
The other DP deal he’s referring to is that of Liel Abada, the Israeli winger who underperformed last season and was already out of the starting lineup in Charlotte’s second game of this season in L.A. If Krneta fields a decent offer in this summer’s window, Abada is likely gone. As Twellman sees it, coming out of a World Cup in the U.S., this summer window is a uniquely good time for Charlotte FC to buy.
“The whole World Cup will expose this country, this city, everything,” Twellman said. “A lot of players are going to see this country that they’ve never seen before and where MLS is and where it’s going. Absolutely, it is an unbelievable time to buy, and you want to have the flexibility to do so.”
A new Agyemang making a name
When center back Morrison Agyemang made his MLS debut off the bench against L.A. Galaxy, his first name, “Morrison,” was emblazoned across the back of his jersey. The Ghana native explained Wednesday it wasn’t a nod to the Brazilian first-name tradition, or because he minded being associated with another Agyemang, striker Patrick, now starring in England. He said he just likes his name, Morrison, and it’s what he’s most comfortable with.
The decision is a reflection of both his background — “Morrison” is the easiest way to distinguish him from his six brothers and his sister — and his comfort level.
Agyemang, who was born in Ghana and has six brothers living in England, left home to pursue soccer at age 14. He attended academies in Russia and Germany before signing his first professional contract in Croatia. From the first division there, he joined Crown Legacy last summer, and now at 21, he’s on the first team.
Charlotte FC assistant GM Bobby Belair said Charlotte has been tracking Agyemang for years, honing in on him after his “data got flagged.”
“We look at certain metrics, like how fast he runs his first 10 meters, how fast he runs over 40 meters, those sorts of things,” Belair said. “He was better than Malanda.”
Agyemang, who is 6-foot-4 with a chiseled frame, added the full picture to those numbers playing in Croatia, last year with Crown Legacy and Saturday in L.A.
“You saw that he’s really strong,” Belair said. “You saw that the first minute of the second half [in L.A.]. He just pushed [João] Klauss out of the way. He’s brave. He’s calm on the ball for his age, really good in the air, which Dean [Smith] likes. Passing and other little things he can improve. But that’s why we brought him into the Legacy.”
Agyemang played his way onto the first team with a strong preseason, and after new acquisition Henry Kessler injured his hamstring, and a goal-allowing mistake in the first half by Andrew Privett. (Smith said Thursday Kessler is likely to miss three more games before being ready to return.)
Agymang said he gained some confidence in the preseason, going against Zaha in practice, whom he and his brothers watched star for Crystal Palace. And he’s not intimidated by early comparisons he’s drawn to Malanda.
“If you’re being compared to him, that’s a blessing in disguise,” Agyemang said. “I’m not up to his level yet, so it depends on how I work hard on the training ground, in the gym and every aspect of my life to become whoever I want to become.”
Can fans see Scotland’s national team?
Technical director Tommy Wilson (right) joins Coach Dean Smith at a preseason practice in Miami. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte FC.)
Since Charlotte FC’s practice facility was named as the base camp for Scotland’s national team for this summer’s World Cup, fans have asked if there will be opportunities to interact with the Scottish team during its six-week stay. Charlotte FC’s front office has been getting them, too. The short answer is they don’t know yet.
The practice fields at Atrium Health Performance Park are not equipped with stands. The team is not holding any practices at Bank of America Stadium, which is booked with events during the World Cup break.
“I don’t think the Scottish team would be against doing something if there is a way of making it accessible for the selected number,” Krneta said. “You can’t just open to anybody, because 3,000 people [might] show up where they want 1,000 to watch.”
A delegation from Scotland’s national team, which chose Charlotte over eight other sites for its airport, facility and weather, visited Atrium Health Performance Park on Monday for advance planning.
“They came here [in January]. It was raining. It was snowing. They thought I was lying about the weather,” said Tommy Wilson, technical director for Charlotte FC, a Scotsman and a key player in attracting the national team to town.
Wilson played with Scotland’s head coach, Stevie Clarke, debuting together in the Scottish Premier League with St. Mirren. He coached Ian Maxwell, now chief executive of the Scottish Football Association, and Steven Naismith, now an assistant coach for Scotland, in his time in Scotland’s national team system and the Rangers of Glasgow.
His, er, pitch to them? “The quality of our training ground and the welcome they would get,” Wilson said. “They came and liked what they saw. The rest you could say is history.”
What fans need to know ahead of Saturday’s home opener:
Saturday’s game is expected to be a sellout, with more than 32,500 tickets sold in the lower bowl.
The supporters’ section behind the East Goal includes its usual span of 100-level seating but is now limited to the middle two sections in the 200 level. The remaining seats will go to group sales and the new $26 ticket initiative. A team spokesman said it was a joint decision between the club and supporters’ group leadership. The move was made in an effort to improve the lower bowl atmosphere after tickets went unsold in those sections last season.
Saturday is the debut of the new “Crowns Up” jersey, which is a nod to Charlotte FC’s original solar blue kit. Its distinguishing feature is the spire shapes in the collar and sleeve details.
A limited number of fans will receive the party shirt giveaway.
Charlotte FC is holding an open practice at Bank of America Stadium on Monday, March 16, from 6-7:30 p.m. ahead of the game vs. New York Red Bulls. Tickets are free but required to enter.
Charlotte FC’s MLS Next Pro team, Crown Legacy, will have free admission to all its home games at the Matthews Sportsplex this season.
Up Next: Charlotte FC (0-1-1) vs. Austin FC (1-0-1)
When/Where: 7:30 p.m. at Bank of America Stadium
How to watch: Apple TV.
How to listen: WFNZ 92.7 in English, WOLS 106.1 in Spanish.
Notable:
Charlotte FC opens a stretch of five consecutive games at Bank of America Stadium, where the team led MLS with 13 home wins last season while going 13-3-1.
Charlotte FC’s first two opponents (St. Louis and L.A. Galaxy) have combined for 23 shots on target, compared to only four for the Crown.
Coach Dean Smith said only goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (8 of 10) rated higher than a 6 out of 10 last week in L.A. among his players. Kahlina has made 19 saves in the first two games.
Austin FC makes its first trip of the season and first to Bank of America Stadium since Charlotte’s inaugural season in 2022. Austin won 1-0 on June 30, 2022.
Austin FC tied its opener 2-2 against Minnesota and beat D.C. United 1-0 Sunday.
Carroll Walton is a longtime baseball writer with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution now in her fifth season covering Charlotte FC. She would love to hear from you. E-mail her with questions, suggestions, story ideas and comments!
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