MLS Winners and Losers: Sporting Kansas City think big with transfers, while Casemiro continues to struggle for Inter Miami

Talk about wheeling and dealing. When CSO David Lee made the move from New York City FC to Sporting Kansas City, he talked a lot about 'building on strong foundations.' Well, he didn't have loads to work with. Peter Vermes, long-time head coach and CSO, had taken SKC about as far as they could go, and the roster Lee was left with was nowhere near up to standard.

From the start, Dejan Joveljic looked like a weird, expensive piece to have on the roster. He was a goalscorer in a team that couldn't create. A No. 9 with nobody to link up with. Sporting KC cut the cord for good on Saturday, trading him to the beleaguered Seattle Sounders for a reported $6 million.

It's fantastic business for Sporting KC, who are about as low as it gets at the moment in MLS, anyway. Lee has gotten aggressive in the market and has made no secret of his desire to think big as this club attempts what would be a holistic and rapid rebuild. They have already spent $18m to sign winger Andre Luiz, and after buying out Manu Garcia, have space for two more DPs. It was widely reported that they were one of a few MLS clubs that made a serious push for Mo Salah, too - before the Egyptian moved to Turkey. In short, Sporting are rebuilding in style.

Joveljic is a real talent, and an MLS Cup winner. But this was a smart, ruthless decision from a club that could perhaps do with being a little more cutthroat.

So, what was it with Casemiro during his final Premier League season?

Jamie Carragher went viral for his scathing critique of the Brazilian not 18 months prior to his move to MLS, claiming that the football had 'left him... at this level.' Yet during the end of his Man United tenure, Casemiro started to pick up a bit. He bagged nine goals - eight of which were headers - as United made an unlikely surge to third place in the Premier League. A move to Inter Miami was curious for a number of reasons, then - if only because there was public interest from other European sides that could have kept Casemiro playing at the top level.

But here he is in Florida, anyway. And the results have been poor. The tacticos could have seen this one coming for a while. Part of the reason Casemiro worked at United was that he had legs around him. Bruno Fernandes was running like a man possessed en route to breaking the Premier League single-season assist record. Kobbie Mainoo was really trying to show he deserved to be at the top level. Casemiro was there to plug gaps.

The issue is, Miami have him operating in too significant a role here. At United, Casemiro was an expensive side character living out his final days in style. Here, Casemiro is a more significant piece, a cog in a broken midfield, expected to solve problems that he cannot fix. In short, Miami need legs. Casemiro cannot run. That was made frighteningly clear Saturday night in a loss to Toronto FC.

With Yannick Bright suspended, Casemiro operated as a lone No. 6 - a quite remarkable act of footballing masochism from Guillermo Hoyos. The result was as expected. Casemiro was run ragged and subbed in the second half. The football might have left him at this level... again.

How does the St. Louis CITY GM keep getting away with this? Open social media, and you will find a slew of really angry St. Louis CITY fans. Basically, the club has developed an unfortunate habit of trading all of their most effective and beloved players. The supporters aren't very happy. First was Marcel Hartel, who was flipped back to Germany (upon his request). The return? A meager $2 million. Next was Eduard Lowen, another crafty little German, and a true difference maker in the final third. He went, too, with St. Louis preferring to cash in rather than hang onto a player they were yet to make a decision on in terms of a contract he reportedly wanted.

These are the kinds of difficult decisions front offices regularly make in soccer. A star player has extraordinary circumstances that require him to move back home? Honor the request - even if your team suffers. Another top man wants an extension, but you're not sure whether to give it to him yet? Cut loose while there's still value. Fans are angry. But this is just business smarts.

The great irony here is that both of those guys are gone, yet St. Louis keep performing on the pitch. They are now 12 games undefeated, and making a serious push for home-field advantage in the playoffs. That's quite an achievement considering they seemed dead in the water right before the World Cup break. It will be an interesting couple of weeks now. Will St. Louis go big and get in some guys to make a push? Or do they keep their powder dry until January? Hopefully their fans will have something to shout about.

Every time Nashville are shoved, they push back harder. There are supposed to be trials and tribulations in the push for a Supporters' Shield. Remember, claiming this thing is effectively "winning the league" in a European sense. New York Red Bulls legend Bradley Wright Phillips - one of the most accomplished goalscorers in league history - told GOAL that he felt winning the Supporters' Shield was more difficult than claiming MLS Cup (pointedly, he never did the latter).

And there's something to that. Not unlike domestic European soccer, the league season is a grind. You have to prove yourself over and over again, in difficult circumstances, against different opponents. When you're the top dog, everyone wants to beat you. But through 21 games, Nashville have fought off pretty much every single swipe made at them. Columbus thought they had them beat Saturday. But Nashville rallied in stoppage time, and came away with another big win. They have 49 points, the most of any team ever at this point in the season.

Had they lost there, and Vancouver won their game in hand, there would be just three points separating the two sides in the chase. Now, the gap is nine, and it doesn't look like closing. Eyes elsewhere for more regular season drama, then.

There was a fair bit of fanfare Thursday morning when MLS's supposed new playoff format leaked. It's a bit of an eyesore, but the general idea is that 20 out of 30 teams will be playing in the postseason in some form. Four of those can afford to lose and will remain in the knockouts. At the same time, MLS will reportedly loosen its salary regulations to allow everyone to spend a little bit more. The upshot of this all is that the playoffs are more accessible than ever and there will be, in theory, something of an arms race to get there. Supposedly, the knock on effect will be that regular season games have a bit more oomph to them.

And that seems badly needed. Consider this. The MLS Playoffs, in their current iteration, are two months away. Eighteen teams, if you include play-ins, will have a shot at winning it all. At the time of writing, 14 of the 15 Eastern Conference teams are two wins away from moving into a playoff spot. 13 of the 15 out West will feel they have a chance, too. This is, in theory, prime jeopardy, where a win or a loss can totally swing the cadence of a season. If this is the product you get when 18 teams make it, and rules make it tricky to make a push, imagine how things could be at the tail end of the 2027-28 season. More, please.

Bit of trivia for you. These five players have two things in common; what are they?

+ Son Heung-Min

+ Vincent Janssen

+ Hugo Lloris

+ Timo Werner

+ Sergio Reguilón

If your answer was "they used to play for Spurs and didn't win this weekend", then well done. It was not a strong weekend for those in North London or those who used to be there, either. First, the Premier League stuff you probably know: Spurs started the Roberto De Zerbi era with a 3-0 battering at the hands of Brentford (yikes!) And then there was the MLS contingent. The LAFC guys (Son, Lloris) drew. The Portland guy (Janssen) drew and got sent off. The San Jose one (Werner) slumped to a fourth straight loss. And the Miami one (Reguilon) also lost.

Is this a bit of a stray? Yeah. But it wasn't a good weekend to be Spurs (current or former).