Austin FC Signs Argentine Star Tomás Pochettino

Austin FC announced the signing of sought-after Argentine midfielder Tomás Pochettino Thursday for a transfer fee of $2.5 million, delivering on the club’s promise to add a second Designated Player and another foundational starter before its debut season begins.

The 25-year-old central midfielder spent the last three seasons with Club Atlético Talleres of the Argentine Primera División. Although Pochettino’s career statistics don’t jump off the page – he has just five goals and seven assists in 80 career league games – he saw his market heat up this winter after being named one of the best players of the Copa Diego Maradona, created in October as a replacement for Argentina’s COVID-disrupted league season. He contributed three goals and four assists in 11 matches in that competition.

Pochettino had been linked to big clubs on both sides of the Atlantic. Among them were Italian giants Juventus and Fiorentina, as well as Buenos Aires club Boca Juniors, from whose world-renowned academy he is a graduate. Austin FC sporting director Claudio Reyna, whose father is Argentine and who speaks fluent Spanish, demonstrated an ability to attract Argentine talent to MLS at his previous post with New York City FC. His latest recruitment is expected to be a vital part of Austin FC’s first team.

“Tomás will be an extremely important player for Austin FC, and he will contribute significantly to the development of our attack as a creative threat,” Reyna said in a statement. “Our Club is looking forward to seeing his creativity translate well in MLS.”

Pochettino is a vertical-minded player who, with Talleres, demonstrated a knack for playing decisive, penetrating passes that led to scoring opportunities. He has a howitzer of a right foot which he uses both to shoot from outside the box, as well as to pick out long passes through the air to teammates further up the field. How he’ll fit into head coach Josh Wolff’s possession-oriented system, though, remains to be seen. Pochettino does not tend to hold the ball at his feet for long and generally plays behind a more attacking “number 10” midfielder. Austin does not currently have a natural starter at that position, though the club hopes Diego Fagundez can be a creative catalyst up the middle. Defensively, Pochettino will benefit from the presence of Alex Ring, who has the speed and positioning to cover for his midfield partners when they get forward on attack.

“I am very happy and excited to wear Austin FC’s jersey this season and be part of their inaugural campaign in MLS,” Pochettino said in a statement.

Although MLS is a salary-capped league, each team is allowed three Designated Players (DP’s) who can be paid a larger wage that will not count against their team’s cap. Pochettino gives Austin its second such player, joining Paraguayan winger Cecilio Domínguez, who signed for the club last August. ATXFC majority owner Anthony Precourt told The Striker Texas in January that the club will likely wait until the summer to fill its final DP slot. As the highest paid players on the roster, DP’s are naturally expected to be among their teams’ most impactful players. In recent years, international players such as Josef Martínez and Carlos Vela have joined MLS expansion teams as DP’s and gone on to set league scoring records and win MVP awards.

While Domínguez figures to be an active goalscoring threat on the wing, the Pochettino signing suggests that Austin FC, at least for now, will play without a DP in the center of attack. The club last week signed free agent striker Aaron Schoenfeld for depth, but appears ready to entrust the bulk of the center forward responsibilities to expansion draftee Danny Hoesen.

Arch Bell was first to report Pochettino’s signing with Austin FC.