Douglas Costa among LA Galaxy players available in MLS Expansion Draft

The 2022 season may have just ended, but we still have one more draft lined up, on Friday. With St. Louis City SC set to make their MLS debut in 2023, we take the first steps in their roster management. Friday at 4pm PT, the expansion side takes center stage for the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft. Today, the LA Galaxy submitted their list of players available for selection in the tomorrow's draft.

A quick refresher on the rules of the draft, St Louis gets up to five selections. Each team — aside from Austin FC, Atlanta United, D.C. United, LAFC and NYCFC who are all exempt — has submitted a list of players who are made available for selection. Once St Louis chooses one player from a team, they are not allowed to select a second from the same team. That means, of the players made available by the Galaxy, only one can be selected, but it's hard to ignore one of the more eye-opening names on the list.

The players made available by the club are as follows:

• Aguirre, Daniel
• Cáceres, Martín
• Costa, Douglas
• DePuy, Nick
• Gasper, Chase
• Harvey, Carlos
• Klinsmann, Jonathan
• Kljestan, Sacha
• Leerdam, Kelvin
• Mutatu, Farai
• Sánchez, Richard
• Vázquez, Víctor
• Villafaña, Jorge
• Zavaleta, Eriq

As you can see, a couple of players who spent just a season with the G’s so far have been made available for selection, with the biggest name being Brazilian midfielder Douglas Costa. While his arrival in February of this year came with its share of hype and hope, the midfielder failed to provide what many had expected of him, despite showing moments of brilliance.

Of course, being on this list doesn't guarantee a player is gone, they still need to be selected. Which makes the biggest x-factor, the team drafting. Most expansion sides use all five selections, even if those players end up being flipped in deals for other players or money. Which could make someone like Costa alluring, not to mention being an experienced veteran at a vital position, the midfield. We will find out tomorrow how it all shakes out, but for now, it's interesting to see who the team is willing to see leave the club, even if they all end up staying come draft night.

How do you feel about the players available? Leave a comment below!