ANALYSIS: FC Dallas’ Early Transfer Window Moves and Superdraft Picks
FC Dallas has had a busy early part of the offseason with one signing confirmed, one all but confirmed, and a handful of draft picks set to join the team in 2026.
Let’s look deeper into all these early moves this week.
Ran Binyamin
The Israeli U-21 international was the first rumor of the offseason, and it proved true quickly, as it led to Binyamin being the first signing of the offseason. Signed to a U-22 deal running through the 2028-29 season with options for the 2029-30 and 2030-31 seasons, Binyamin looks set to be in Frisco for the next half-decade or so.
Honestly, it is hard to find much concrete information or highlights about him. The Israeli league is not particularly visible here in the US, but he has been with Hapoel Tel Aviv for a few seasons and was a big part of their 24/25 campaign in the second division that saw them go back up to the top flight as champions. He has been a regular in the current 25/26 season in the top flight and has been a regular fixture in Israeli youth teams, including the team that finished 3rd at the most recent U20 World Cup. See which apps experts recommend for soccer betting and be prepared for World Cup betting in June.
Binyamin looks to be a box-to-box midfielder, so he’ll compete with the likes of Christian Cappis, Paxton Pomykal, Kaick, Ramiro, and Diego Garcia for playing time. He has all the physical tools that Eric Quill likes: big, strong, quick, and looks to be really clued in on his defensive work. His goal contribution numbers were strong in the second division but not as strong in the first division, so the end product is certainly a question, but he looks, at least for 2026, to be a solid rotation piece if nothing else.
Herman Johansson
To be clear, at the time of writing, nothing is official about this signing. That said, the deal has been reported by both Swedish press and Tom Bogert, and Johansson follows both FCD and FCD’s team administrator on Instagram, so, if nothing else, things are very, very close.
Johansson is a wingback currently playing for Mjallby in the Swedish top flight. Mjallby, who represent a tiny village, were shock winners of the Allsvenskan in 2025 and actually broke the all-time points record in doing so. Johansson was a constant starter at right wing back (and also played a few games at right center back). He stands at an impressive 6’3″, making him really imposing for his position, and looks quite pacey and strong on the ball.
He is 28 years old, right in the prime of his career, and recently received his first call-ups to the Swedish national team. If this goes through, it looks to be a very, very strong signing, and he would slot directly in at right wing back in the 3-5-2, taking pressure off guys like Geovane Jesus and Enzo Newman, who are both coming back from long-term injuries, and allowing Shaq Moore to move back to center back full-time. Really excited about this one!
Ricky Louis
Dallas did a whole lot of moving around regarding the draft this year. They started the offseason as holders of the 16th pick, their natural pick, and the 21st pick that they acquired in the Paul Arriola trade with Seattle last offseason. They then traded all the way up to number 3 by sending Montreal some GAM and their second round pick, and then, just before the draft started, sent GAM and the 21st pick to the Red Bulls to get the 12th pick, which they then packaged with more GAM to send to Atlanta to get the 2nd pick.
They used that 2nd pick on Ricky Louis, a sophomore from Georgia Southern and one of four Generation Adidas signings for 2026. As a reminder, Generation Adidas players pre-sign with MLS, and they do not hit the salary cap for the length of their initial contract (usually three years guaranteed).
Look, it is hard to judge things in college soccer. I couldn’t find a college-focused highlight tape for Louis, but he stands at 6’2″, made first team all-Sun Belt in 2025, and had 8 goals and 3 assists across 16 games in 2025. Anyone who signs a GA contract is highly rated and has a pro career in store. Louis looks pacey and strong with a good eye for goal and good movement. He’ll obviously immediately factor in at North Texas SC and factor in as a backup to Petar Musa and Logan Farrington at forward.
Nicholas Simmonds
Dallas then followed up their number two pick with yet another Generation Adidas signing in Nicholas Simmonds, a freshman from Virginia. Simmonds’ metrics jump off the page even more than Louis’. He stands at 6’4″ and scored 10 goals and added 5 assists in his freshman season, playing 19 games. Again, not a ton of tape to look at here, but it doesn’t take much to see how impressive he is on a physical level, he has pace to burn to go along with his size.
Don’t think he’ll have too many issues adjusting to the physical side of MLS. Along with Louis, he’ll likely feature heavily for North Texas early in the season and factor into the mix as a backup to Musa and Farrington up top, and may also get some looks on the wing.
Niklas Herceg
With their third pick, number 16 overall, in the first round of the draft, Dallas went with goalkeeper Niklas Herceg from Vermont. One of the top goalkeepers in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, Herceg was a star of Vermont’s national championship run in 2024 and maintained his strong form in 2025. He was named America East goalkeeper of the year, made the United Soccer Coaches All-America first team, and was a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist.
He stands at a massive 6’6″ and is only 22 years old, a little old for a sophomore, but very young for a keeper. The one big hang-up here: he’s German, so he’ll take an international spot on the first team, which means, at least for 2026, a season at North Texas SC is probably on the cards. But either way, there’s some very obvious massive potential there with a keeper of that size and that kind of pedigree at such a young age.
Edouard Nys
Dallas continued wheeling and dealing as the draft went on, sending $75K in 2027 GAM to Colorado in exchange for the 40th and 44th overall picks. The 40th pick was spent on Edouard Nys, a midfielder from Illinois-Chicago. Nys had an interesting college journey, he hails from Belgium and spent a couple years at the junior college level where he had a couple monster seasons that earned him a transfer to the D1 level at UIC. In his junior season there (he’s a natural junior at age 21), he was a terror, scoring 16 goals and adding 5 assists in just 18 games.
Those kinds of numbers and what you see on the tape, finishes from all sorts of range, great movement, and solid athleticism, would typically see a player drafted in the first round, but his international status likely pushed him down the draft board a bit. That international status means that, if he does choose to sign, he’d likely slot directly in at North Texas for 2026, but Dallas is hedging a bet with Nys that he can continue to develop and be worth that international spot in the future.
Umberto Pelà
Another pick in the same mold as Nys, Pelà hails from Italy. A pure defensive midfielder, he was a regular starter for 2023 through 2025 for a very good Virginia team and was a second-team All-American in 2025.
Solid on the ball and in the tackle, but a bit older than some of the other picks, Pelà looks to be a very obvious fit for North Texas in 2026 and may take up a leadership role. He was Virginia’s captain for two consecutive seasons.
Olayinka Ogunleye
With Dallas’ sixth and final pick of the draft, the third-round pick they got back from the trade with Montreal, they selected center back Ola Ogunleye from Louisville. Ogunleye is a 6’4″ sophomore with a Nigerian background (I haven’t been able to find out if he would count as a domestic player or not). This pick is reminiscent of last year’s third-round pick of Mohamed Cisset, who was also a young left-footed center back with a lot of range and raw ability. Cisset was reportedly let go at the end of the season, but that archetype of player seems to be something Dallas is interested in.
With a 3rd round pick, the first team is always a long shot, so Ogunleye will hope to impress at North Texas in 2026 to push for a first-team spot in the future.
What are your thoughts on FCD’s early offseason moves and draft picks?
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