Costa and Shaqiri among new stars to watch ahead of 2022 MLS season

MLS 2022 kicks off this weekend with Charlotte FC the league's newest franchise ahead of the season opener on Saturday. There are some big name new arrivals in Major League Soccer, and we have picked out some noteworthy additions to the league to whet the appetite ahead of the weekend's action. 

Douglas Costa - LA Galaxy 

Gremio were relegated from the Brasileirao last season as they finished three points off safety, but it wasn't for want of trying from Douglas Costa. The winger earned a WhoScored rating of 6.86 for the Brazilian giants last term, that the third best of all Gremio players, as he scored three goals and provided two assists. 

Costa did all he could to help set Gremio on the front foot as he completed the third most dribbles per 90 (3.5) in Brazil's top tier last term, while 2.3 key passes per 90 also ranked highly in the division. In a disappointing season for the Imortal Tricolor, the Brazilian wideman was a bright spark. 

Juventus, though, were happy for Costa to be loaned out once more, this time to LA Galaxy for six months before penning an 18-month deal with Greg Vanney's side. Following a sub-par season that saw the Galaxy finish eighth in the Western Conference, missing out on a playoff spot on goal difference only, LA Galaxy fans are hoping the 31-year-old can provide a consistent goal threat. 

Xherdan Shaqiri - Chicago Fire 

"I wanted to go away from France and the opportunity came," Xherdan Shaqiri admitted in his Chicago Fire unveiling on Monday. The Swiss star departed Lyon just six months after moving to French side from Liverpool last summer and while he made a positive start with OL, scoring one and assisting another in his opening three league outings, Shaqiri started only nine league games before moving across the Atlantic. 

While minutes were at times hard to come by, Shaqiri was still a creative force for Lyon when called upon. The 30-year-old averaged two key passes per 90 for the Ligue 1 giants, that the joint-second best return for Lyon in league duties, and Chicago Fire are hopeful he can transfer this creative quality to MLS. 

The Fire finished 12th in the Eastern Conference last season and scored just 36 league goals; only new franchise Austin FC (35) netted fewer. Shaqiri will at least bow out from Lyon on a high having had a direct hand in both goals in their 2-1 win over Marseille at the beginning of the month, and the Fire are hoping for similar quality showings from Shaqiri in the coming campaign. 

Thiago Almada - Atlanta United 

After Ezequiel Barco departed MLS side Atlanta United for River Plate, the Five Stripes acted accordingly to secure Barco's replacement, landing another high profile attacker off the Argentine production line. Thiago Almada has previously been linked with moves to Manchester United and Manchester City, yet the youngster has followed a similar path to Barco and swapped Argentina for America. 

The 20-year-old enjoyed a fruitful end to his time with Velez Sarsfield, chipping in with four goals and four assists to yield a WhoScored rating of 7.12 and help El Fortin to a fifth-placed finish. Now Atlanta United are hoping he can forge a prolific partnership with Josef Martinez, the Venezuelan returning to action last April following a year out after suffering a torn ACL. 

Despite injury, Martinez still managed 12 goals from 25 appearances, a commendable return all things considered, but fans will be demanding a repeat of their 2018 MLS Cup campaign having fallen at the first playoff hurdle at the expense of eventual winners NYCFC. Almada ranked eighth for key passes per game (2.1) and 11th for dribbles per game (2.1) in Liga Profesional last season, so there is the potential for the Argentine and Martinez to forge a lethal partnership in 2022. 

Alan Velasco - FC Dallas 

The worry for FC Dallas this season is how best to replace Ricardo Pepi. The 18-year-old departed for Bundesliga side Augsburg last month having netted 13 MLS goals last season, but at the time of writing; they are yet to land a replacement for Pepi. That said, FC Dallas have done well to bolster their frontline with the capture of Alan Velsaco from Independiente. 

While much of the focus in Argentina in 2021 was on Julian Alvarez, Velasco was superb in the final third for Independiente. Five assists was the 10th best return in the Argentine top tier last term, though that return should have been higher. 2.3 key passes per game was the fifth best, while the 19-year-old ranked first for dribbles per game (4.7). 

FC Dallas will miss Pepi's goals - he did score 27.7% of their 47 goals as they finished 11th in the West - and there is plenty of pressure on Velasco to make an immediate impact for the Burn. That said, he is an exciting capture whose exploits in 2021 perhaps snuck under the radar for Independiente with Alvarez the poster boy for Liga Profesional last year. 

David Ayala - Portland Timbers 

Another youngster swapping Liga Profesional for MLS, David Ayala wasn't a first team regular Estudiantes last season as he made just 11 appearances, four of which were from the outset, but he'll bolster a Portland Timbers side that did struggle to keep opponents out in 2021. 

Indeed, the MLS Cup runners' up conceded 52 goals in the regular season, and shoring up the defence and midfield was of paramount importance for the Timbers. Ayala, will aid in improving the poor goals against column having ranked 14th for tackles per 90 (3.8), 20th for shots blocked per 90 (0.8) and highly for interceptions per 90 (1.8) to reinforce statistically calculated WhoScored strengths of 'blocking the ball' and 'ball interception'.  

The 19-year-old may not go straight into Giovanni Savarese's starting XI, yet he is a handy option to call upon if needed for the coming campaign as the Timbers aim to go one better in 2022 after their MLS Cup final loss at the hands of NYCFC in December. 

Lorenzo Insigne - Toronto FC 

Yes, he isn't moving to Toronto FC until his current deal with Napoli expires at the end of the season, but Lorenzo Insigne's move to MLS is a major statement of intent for the league. The Italy international was linked with a move to some of Europe's elite sides in the summer, only to spring an upset and pen a four-year pre-contract with Toronto worth a reported £44m. 

The 30-year-old ranks fourth for key passes per 90 (2.8) in Serie A this season, and has six goals and five assists to his name in 2021/22. As Napoli seek title glory, Insigne will hope to bow out an icon in Naples before beginning the next chapter of his career.