For about three months, all was suspiciously quiet on the Austin FC offseason front. Apart from the odd rumor passing in the wind, there wasn’t much to write home about.
Well, time to grab some ink.
According to multiple reports, the Verde and Black have kicked off the 2025 calendar year with the most pivotal pair of transfer moves in franchise history. Let’s start with the bad news, especially if you have a No. 10 (or 7, or 25 if you’re a real OG) jersey hanging in your closet. The days of watching Sebastián Driussi “rabona” his way into the hearts of ATXFC fans appear to be over.
As of Sunday night, according to Argentine journalist Pablo Noya and confirmed by MLS insider Tom Bogert, Driussi was nearing a move to rejoin his boyhood club River Plate in Buenos Aires, for a fee in the high-seven-digit range. Reports detailing River Plate’s interest in a Driussi reunion had persisted for years, ever since the DP midfielder’s breakout 2022 campaign, in which he scored 22 goals (plus three more in the playoffs) for Austin FC and finished second in MLS MVP voting.
However, Driussi struggled to match that level of production in the following two seasons, scoring just 11 and seven goals, respectively, in those campaigns while often serving as Austin FC captain. Driussi originally signed with Austin FC in the middle of the club’s inaugural 2021 season, for a fee of $7 million from Zenit St. Petersburg. It appears sporting director Rodolfo Borrell managed to turn a slight profit in parting ways with the soon-to-be 29-year-old.
But, as one Designated Player exits, another one arrives. Bogert also broke news Sunday that Austin FC has agreed on a club-record $10 million transfer to acquire U.S. international striker Brandon Vazquez from Monterrey in Mexico. Vazquez is a proven goalscorer in MLS and Liga MX, squarely in his prime at age 26.
In his one season south of the border, Vazquez scored 14 goals in 48 matches in all competitions. Prior to that, the San Diego native lit up the score sheet for FC Cincinnati, scoring 37 goals in 77 games between the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Vazquez has also scored four goals in 11 caps for the United States Men’s National Team, most recently at the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He could become the first active Austin FC player to suit up for the Stars and Stripes.
Bogert also reports that, assuming the Driussi deal gets finalized, Austin FC will look to add yet another DP sooner rather than later. And it also bears mentioning that the club added veteran free agent midfielder Ilie Sánchez on the final day of 2024.
A dramatic, franchise-altering weekend leaves Austin FC in a fascinating place ahead of the 2025 season, its first under new head coach Nico Estévez. The Verde and Black have never had a striker score double-digit goals in a season. Now, that is almost certain to change with Vazquez, who immediately regains his status as one of the top No. 9’s in MLS. He can score in a variety of ways and crucially still has the best years of his career likely in front of him, unlike the last USMNT veteran to lead the lines for ATX, Gyasi Zardes (with whom the club parted ways via a contract buyout last month).
However, Vazquez will need quality service to thrive, and Borrell now has a Driussi-sized hole to fill in the No. 10 spot. Perhaps that will be the focus of the club’s next DP pursuit.
Regardless, and with several additional moves likely to come in the ensuing weeks, Austin FC will have a starkly different look on the pitch than in recent seasons. That in itself is worth getting excited about.
Read more Austin FC coverage at austinchronicle.com/austin-fc.
This article appears in January 3 • 2025.
