Cahill as a Toffee

The New York Red Bulls on Thursday announced they have finalized a deal to bring Australian international Tim Cahill to the club. 

As the silly season of the summer transfer window in Major League Soccer nearly comes to an end, the needs for some of the clubs looks to have been met. After many days and different predictions of who will be gracing the pitch at Red Bull Arena, the needs for the Red Bulls to strengthen their attack from the midfield has finally come through.

The Red Bulls acquired Australian International and former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill on a transfer that is reportedly worth around 1 million U.K. pounds. 

Last week, there was an initial shock after Major League Soccer’s official website declared that New York had agreed to terms with the Merseyside club. But even as recently as July 23rd, the Red Bulls continued to deny Cahill was here because he didn’t take his physical at the time. But now those formalities have been handled, and Cahill will wear his familiar #17. He will meet the media at Red Bull Arena on Monday, July 30th.

“We are absolutely thrilled to bring in a player of Tim’s caliber to the Red Bulls,” said General Manager and Sporting Director Erik Soler. “He is the technical, physical presence we have been looking to add in our team, and he brings a wealth of experience to our club having played in some of the highest levels of international soccer. Tim is a proven leader both on and off the field, and we believe that he can help us immediately in our quest to win the MLS Cup this season.”

 “I am very happy to start a new chapter of my career with the New York Red Bulls,” Cahill said. “As we have seen over the past few years, MLS has developed into a very competitive league with many talented players. I am impressed with what the Red Bulls are trying to accomplish in MLS and within American soccer, and I am looking forward to this new challenge. I will do everything I can to help bring New York its First MLS Cup.”

Cahill has been a talismanic player for his home nation Australia, but last season had his struggles with Everton as a teammate of USMNT player Tim Howard. He scored only two league goals in the 2011-12 campaign, quite a drop-off for a guy who has a reputation as a ferocious attacker, especially in the air.

If there were some thinking that Cahill might return to his native Australia and play in the Hyundai A-League, it looks like that wasn’t the case and it sounds like he is happy he made the right choice. That’s not saying that the A-League is a noncompetitive league, but maybe he wanted to try a different place.

Now all the Red Bulls are waiting on is his P1 Visa and ITC card (International Transfer Card) so he can start getting into matches with the club. Of course it doesn’t seem like he will be available for the road trip to Montreal, but that may also fulfill a match ban he received against Newcastle United to end the Premier League season this spring. It seems more realistic that he will debut in the friendly against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday, July 31st , or perhaps the back-to-back games against the Houston Dynamo.

The big question for the Red Bulls will be how to incorporate all these new pieces. Their depth in the front 6 now is a problem – which in honesty is a good problem to have. With the addition of Cahill, their attack should be even more dangerous. 

Does this move make the Red Bulls a true contender for the MLS Cup Final? Early indications will say yes, but once again anything can happen in the playoffs. Right now they are going to try and hold on to top of the Eastern Conference.