Twellman: Revs will “100% sign a Designated Player at the No. 9 position”

Will the New England Revolution sign a Designated Player striker? The answer depends on who you ask.

During halftime of the Revs’ game against Sporting KC, ESPN commentator Taylor Twellman said that his former club will “100% sign a Designated Player at the No. 9 position.” Revolution head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena refuted the statement during his post-game press conference.

The Revs recently sold Adam Buksa to RC Lens of the French first division. The Polish striker was an important piece for the Revolution as he lead the team with 16 goals last year and had seven goals this year before departing.

Gustavo Bou has been tasked with playing alone up top now that his former strike partner is gone. The Argentine has been performing well as he has two goals in two games. Jozy Altidore has been primarily used off the bench but he remains in contention for a starting spot.

That said, Twellman’s comments on Sunday indicate that the Revs could bring in a striker. For him, it’s just a question of what type of player they sign.

“The question is, with Bruce Arena turning 71 later this year, is there urgency to go out and get a player like a Christian Benteke or do you go out and get a player like Adam Buksa from Europe that you can resell?” Twellman asked.

Twellman continued, “From all accounts, from what I know, I’d be shocked if the Revolution don’t go the Adam Buksa route because I think the Kraft family see $24 million and says, this is good business. Let’s try to replicate what we did with Adam Buksa.”

Arena was asked if Twellman was accurate when he said the Revs will 100% sign a DP striker. The veteran head coach offered a blunt response.

“No,” Arena said. “How would he possibly know that? That is not an accurate statement.”

On Thursday, Arena spoke about the upcoming summer transfer window. He told Zolak and Bertrand that nothing is certain but he’s “optimistic that we’ll bring in another player that’s going to help us.”

In his pregame media availability on the same day, Arena noted that the club is looking at options at a few positions.

“Naturally, we will use the next transfer window to hopefully supplement our roster,” Arena said. “There’s a few positions we think we can strengthen. I’m not sure which one or a couple we’ll decide to fill, but we’re actively looking at potential transfer moves for the July window.”