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Bruce Arena is flipping the script for the New England Revolution this offseason as for the first time in club history, the team will have three designated players in 2020.
Per team release, the team made official the transfer of Polish striker Adam Buksa from Polish Ekstraklasa league side Pogón Szczecin for an undisclosed fee. Buksa will wear the #9 shirt and be added to the roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
“We are delighted to sign Adam Buksa to a Designated Player contract. Adam is a talented striker who will complement our group of attacking players and our team,” said Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena in the team’s press release. “We are excited to welcome him to the New England Revolution, and look forward to working with him.”
Buksa joins the Revs after a strong 18-month run with Pogón Szczecin where he scored 22 goals in 52 appearances (47 starts) across all competitions and won the club’s golden boot in 2018-19 with 11 goals. Buksa was also leading Pogón Szczecin to the top of the table with 7 goals in 18 appearances in the first half of 2019-20. Buksa’s career totals include 98 appearances with 64 starts, 28 goals, and 11 assists through more than 5,700 minutes played while also featuring professionally with other top flight Polish clubs Zagłębie Lubin and Lechia Gdańsk.
Buksa has also featured for various Polish youth national teams and was called in to the senior team in 2018 but did not make an appearance. The Krakow, Poland native began his youth club career with various local teams including Wisła Kraków, Hutnik Kraków, Garbarnia Kraków, and Novara before turning pro.
Buksa joins an already impressive DP group in New England with Gustavo Bou and Carles Gil being added earlier in the calendar year. While we don’t have specifics on the individual transfers, it appears the Revs have spent at least $12 million dollars in transfers for the three DPs:
With Buksa deal over the line, #NERevs transfer spending in 2019 on three DPs (Bou, Gil and Buksa at $4m, per @frankdellapa) in the $12m+ range. #MLS
— Kyle McCarthy (@kylejmccarthy) December 20, 2019
This is a major shift from how the Revs normally conduct offseason business, as the Revs have added not just Buksa but also left back Alexander Buttner to a TAM deal and signed former Revs and MLS free agents Kelyn Rowe and Seth Sinovic all well before the start of the 2020 preseason camp.
We look forward to watching Buksa score many goals with Gil, Bou, and the rest of the Revolution in 2020 and will have more offseason coverage about the Revs roster coming soon.