'A hot commodity' - FC Cincinnati star Vazquez expected to draw major transfer interest despite USMNT World Cup snub

• Vazquez expected to draw transfer interest
• Scored 18 goals in 2022
• Set to be left off USMNT squad for World Cup despite MLS breakout

WHAT HAPPENED? Vazquez scored 18 goals and provided eight assists in 33 games, helping lead FC Cincinnati to the playoffs. He signed a long-term contract this summer, keeping him at the club through 2025 with an option for 2026, but Noonan believes that Vazquez may be ready to move on long before then.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I would say that if he continues on this path, he's going to be gone,” Noonan said. “That's my guess. Do we want to lose him? No. If he continues in the form that he is in, he can produce for us for a long time and that's what we want.

“But the reality is with his age and with this particular position, the goalscorer, he's going to be a hot commodity. I don't expect that he is going to be a part of this group if the production continues at the rate that it did in 2022.”

AND WHAT'S MORE: Noonan added that he would not hold such a move against the player, even if it hurts his squad. “For Brandon, the person [and] the player, if other opportunities come about and he's able to go onto something bigger and better, I think that's fantastic," he said. "I think it's a sign of players being able to be a part of our staff and this club, being in position to develop to play at a higher level, wherever that is, whatever that means.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: A move abroad would be a logical next step for Vazquez who, at age 24, is still developing as a striker. His breakout season will have surely put him on the radar of clubs all over the world, although it wasn't enough for him to lock up a spot with the U.S. men's national team ahead of the World Cup, with Vazquez revealing that head coach Gregg Berhalter told him that it was too late to integrate him for 2022 and to instead focus on pushing for the 2026 team.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

WHAT NEXT FOR FC CINCY? Vazquez may not be the only young star on his way out Cincy soon. 22-year-old Brazilian starlet Brenner, the club's record signing, is also expected to draw interest after scoring 18 times this past season.

The campaign, however, ended in disappointment, with the club coming up short against the Philadelphia Union in the postseason after taking down the New York Red Bulls in their first playoff match.