Charlotte FC boss Dean Smith expects Designated Player signings before the new season

Charlotte FC head coach Dean Smith believes he'll have a couple of new players to work with before the new season begins.

Smith's comments come after two of the club's Designated Players, Polish duo Karol Swiderski and Kamil Jozwiak, departed ahead of the 2024 season leaving the Eastern Conference team with Enzo Copetti as the lone DP on the books.

Swiderski joined Serie A side Hellas Verona on loan through the remainder of the 2023/24 season, while Jozwiak left in a permanent move to La Liga outfit Granada. Copetti showed promise in his first season with Charlotte, bagging seven goals in 29 appearances. But he can't do it alone up front, with Smith hopeful of reinforcements before the new season begins later this month.

"We will certainly have one [Designated Player] come in before the season starts and kicks off, if not two. It's something that we're working on," Smith said to the media after preseason activities.

"I let everybody know before we traveled to Miami, my thoughts with Kamil, and we wish him well at Granada now that he's gone there. Karol had intimated that he wanted to go back to Europe, so I was pretty cool with that."

The former Leicester City and Aston Villa boss revealed that Swiderski was eager for a return to Europe as it's where his professional career started out in Greece. The last thing any coach wants, especially a new coach, is for a player to disrupt the culture they're trying to build.

"I don't want players at the club who don't want to be here," said Smith. "We want players fighting for the crown and the jersey. What we've got now is players who want to be here and a really good squad mentality at the moment. That's important as well as bringing in new players."

Charlotte begin their 2024 MLS campaign on February 24 at Bank of America Stadium against Eastern Conference foes New York City FC.

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