Crew Moves: Lassi Lappalainen Signs On, Hagen Stays, And More
Checking in on the newest member of the Black and Gold, Hagen's re-signing, and more news provided recently
We finally have our first signing of the year! And, it’s one that was never even on our radar.
On Wednesday, The Crew announced the signing of former CF Montreal wide midfielder and Finland national Lassi Lappalainen on a contract through the 2025 season with an option for 2026. Lassi has had a couple of rough years of production in Montreal since his best performance-based year as pro in 2022 under Wilfried Nancy and even saw his role as a starter or off-the-bench contributor reduced after making 25 appearances in 2023, to just 2024 appearances this past season.
Image Credit: MLS
His 2022 saw him record 3 goals and 5 assists, all in MLS play, and his presence as a wide midfielder has me believing that he will be a replacement for Yaw Yeboah, although not a like-for-like replacement. The way I see it, Lassi can be a ball holding and ball progressing LWB who pushes forward much more than he retreats back, and often finds himself moving into space further in the middle of the field than nestled in the corner on the left side or cutting inside like Arfsten often does, which gives a different look in critical moments when we struggled to breakdown opposition defenses closer to the end of the 2024 season.
This also fuels further speculation that another one of our wingbacks, likely Mo Farsi, could be on the move this off-season despite no further updates towards that situation being provided as of now.
In other news, Nicho Hagen was re-signed to contract through the 2026 season with club options for 2027 and 2028, and I have to say I’m glad this move was made. There was plenty of speculation that Hagen may find a home somewhere else in the league with Schulte being the #1 and D.C. United on his tail, but The Crew realized his importance when Schulte was out and he was available.
Image Credit: MLS/Transfermarkt
Hagen only played 4 MLS games in 2024, but really shined in Leagues Cup and especially showed out in the final against LAFC despite the defense bailing him out in some nervy 1v1’s against Denis Bouanga, but I feel more comfort and experience with the backline will have Hagen performing at a higher level in goal, and his shot-stopping despite some rough underlying distribution numbers is enough for me.
Now, this does raise the question, is this a contingency plan for Schulte leaving sometime soon? The honest answer is I’m not sure, though I don’t see Schulte leaving before the season starts. If there is any movement on that front, I’d see it happening in the summer when European clubs have more money to spend and aren’t relying on loan deals or loan to buy options, as there is no way the Crew would do anything either than hold onto Schulte or sell him at a premium.
Last, but certainly not least, the Crew has seen multiple first team and reserve players called up to January camps in their respective player pool, with DeJuan Jones, Patrick Schulte, and Max Arfsten called up to the Men’s First Team January Camp, and Taha Habroune and Owen Presthus called up to the U-20 January Camp. These are great opportunities for them to further develop, and it’s not often you get to play under two fantastic managers like Wilfried Nancy and Mauricio Pochettino, so it’s safe to say these are still incredibly exciting times for the club moving forward.