Here are the top five new teams in the MLS for 2023.

Major League Soccer clubs change their teams every off-season to bring in new players in the hopes of going to new heights in the next season.

When big-name players move to an MLS team, fans are always excited to see how the new players do, especially attackers who are expected to make an instant impact in front of goal.
The following list shows the top five new MLS teams from the 2023 season.

5. Yohei Takaoka (GK) – Vancouver Whitecaps

If Vancouver didn’t make the playoffs in 2022, they couldn’t afford to miss out again in 2023. With Ryan Gauld and Brian White up front, they had to.

Comes Yohei Takaoka from J1 team Yokohama F. Marinos. He is a custodian for Japan’s national team and fits right in with Vanni Sartini’s defence, which gave up 45 goals during the regular season.

There were many times when Takaoka made a great save to keep his team in the game. His eight clean sheets and 96 saves tell the whole story of the Whitecaps’ return to the MLS Cup playoffs.

4. Duncan McGuire (F) – Orlando City

One thing that makes Duncan McGuire different from the other players on this list is that he was a rookie in his first professional season. It was still his first season in Major League Soccer, though.
The fact that McGuire had a great first season with the team shows that Orlando City has once again produced a great striker. McGuire played in 29 games (17 starts) and scored 13 goals and set up 3 others to help the Lions finish in second place in the Eastern Conference.

3. Eduard Lowen (M) – St Louis CITY

Eduard Lowen was still one of the best new midfielders in Major League Soccer in 2023, even though he missed a lot of the season.

He scored six goals and set up 14 others, which helped St. Louis CITY win first place in the Western Conference in their first season. They’ll need more of his great play to keep things going well in 2024.

2. Amine Bassi (M) – Houston Dynamo

The Houston Dynamo’s deal to sign Amine Bassi may not have been seen as one of the best moves before the 2023 season.

Because of great play from players like Hector Herrera and Bassi, the Dynamo made it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2017 and won the US Open Cup. He played 28 games and scored 10 goals and set up 4 others. It was an amazing first season in MLS.

1. Giorgos Giakoumakis (F) – Atlanta United

Giorgos Giakoumakis had a big first season in Major League Soccer (MLS) after coming from the Scottish giants Celtic to take over for the famous Josef Martinez.

Giakoumakis went above and beyond after scoring in his first start against the Portland Timbers in March. The Greece international scored 17 goals and set up three others as Atlanta made the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Giakoumakis has shown that he can easily convert half-chances when he gets good service.