With Aidan Morris leaving, who slots in at center midfield for Crew? 3 possible players
The Crew were able to keep their full starting lineup from the 2023 MLS Cup through the offseason and the first MLS primary transfer window, but Columbus is taking its first hit with midfielder Aidan Morris departing for England's second-tier Middlesbrough FC.
More: Crew midfielder Aidan Morris leaving Columbus for EFL Championship's Middlesbrough FC
Morris, who has appeared at center midfield alongside Darlington Nagbe for the majority of three consecutive seasons, is leaving a hole in the regular starting formation for Crew coach Wilfried Nancy.
"Aidan (Morris), he is a really good piece for us, but it’s always (what’s) next," Nancy said. "My job is to try to be ahead all the time. So, the fact is that we have players who can play in different positions, and Aidan didn’t play all the games, he missed a few games. So, I’m not concerned by that because it’s going to be good for other players."
While there is always the chance Columbus makes a move before or during the secondary window to fill Morris' role, there are options on the Crew roster, and a player set to join the club on July 18 once the window opens, who can slot in at center midfield.
"Next player’s going to have to enjoy," Nancy said, "and to do something, not Aidan Morris-style, but his own style."
Here are three players who could be center midfield for the Crew this summer:
Sean Zawadzki
There are only a few positions that Nancy has yet to feature Crew utility man Sean Zawadzki in during their time together in Columbus, but Zawadzki's natural position before playing for Nancy was center midfield.
"He played at this position for many years," Nancy said. "And since I came in, I disrupted everything. But he’s good for that, and he can bring something different because he’s really smart, and also to read the game quickly.”
In the three matches since Morris' departure was reported, Zawadzki has either started at center midfield or come into the match for Morris and played the rest of the game at that position. Whether it is coincidental or preparing Zawadzki to step back into that role has yet to be confirmed.
There is a sense of familiarity with Zawadzki since he has played more than 45 matches for the Crew over the past two seasons, and Nancy has said that he likes the 23-year-old's technical ability in terms of his pacing with the ball.
"Sean (Zawadzki) has been great," Nagbe said. "In my opinion, you can put him anywhere on the field, anywhere on the back line or in the middle and he does a good job there. I'm not surprised to see him going from center back to stepping into the midfield."
Derrick Jones
The Crew signed MLS veteran Derrick Jones during the offseason, and from the beginning of training camp Jones has been practicing as a center midfielder. Limited to nine MLS appearances and one start this season, every time Jones has gotten playing time it has been next to either Morris or Nagbe.
Jones brings a height advantage, standing at 6 feet 4, to the position that Columbus was lacking in size. The duo of Nagbe and Morris both stand under 5-10. But it has taken Jones time to adjust as a center midfielder due to the fact he used to play more as playing defensive midfield.
"A guy like Derrick (Jones) hasn’t played a lot recently," Nancy said. "And I would like to give him more minutes and he’s going to get more minutes because he deserves that.”
Dylan Chambost
Dyaln Chambost was the first player thae Crew official acquired ahead of the secondary transfer window, and the first player to sign with the club since new general manager Issa Tall took over.
During his five seasons playing professional soccer in France, Chambost was utilized as an attacking midfielder and rarely saw time at center midfield, but Nancy has been known to change a player's natural position to fit into the lineup. When describing the traits that drew the Crew to acquiring Chambost, Nancy listed abilities that could be viable at center midfield.
"I wanted to have a midfielder player that is a lefty, because this is not something that we have," Nancy said. "To be able to disguise the pass, to be able to play the reverse pass, to be able to have a lot of activities and to be also a passer. We have a lot of players who like to dribble, dribble, dribble. So, the idea was to get a passer player who can be good with the link of play."
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 3 Columbus Crew players who can start at center midfield next to Nagbe
