Vanzeir Departs as Another Failed Experiment

New York Red Bulls and Dante Vanzeir have parted ways with the Belgian striker having joined KAA Gent late last week. His time as a Red Bulls player can only be described as tempestuous as bouts of suspension, injury and inefficiency left the fan base frustrated and calling for action from the front office.

Vanzeir played a total of 63 games across all competitions for the Red Bulls but was only able to scrounge up 11 goals over two seasons. Joining the club in 2023 for a rumored 5 million transfer fee, many believed that the young striker would be the answer to Patryk Klimala, who also failed to produce after a splash move from Europe. However, many if not more issues plagued Vanzeir as he was unable to meet the expectations of the club.

An early season suspension for an on-field incident only helped to stoke the flames as he missed significant time while the team struggled under head coach Gerhard Struber. After the Austrian coach’s departure, Vanzeir returned under Troy Lesesne but wasn’t able to capture the magic he had produced in Belgium where he was double-digit goal-scorer. Instead he finished his 2023 campaign with just five goals in all competitions.

2024 gave signs of hope as a reinvigorated Vanzeir returned to the club looking to make his mark. Early on it appeared that all signs were pointing that way. A four-assist tally against Inter Miami set a club single-game record but the well ran dry from there. At a certain point he even fell out of favor with head coach Sandro Schwarz who reverted to his bench and Elias Manoel as a starter over portions of the season. Vanzeir did return to form somewhat and was a significant contributor in the MLS Cup Playoffs. However, two years without major production saw his desire to return to Europe outweigh a third try in the United States.

Where this leaves New York Red Bulls is with yet another failure in attempting to find a long-term striker. Now, Head of Sport Jochen Schneider has shifted gears and decided to go with experience over potential. Bayern Munich back-up striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting represents a risk in that he has had injury concerns in the past. Balanced against his ability to produce when he is healthy and you have a different type of risk-management that Red Bulls are willing to accept.

In the end Vanzeir can be added to the graveyard of strikers that have followed in the footsteps of Bradley Wright-Phillips. Vanzeir and Klimala join Ashley Fletcher, Fabio, Tom Barlow and others as a swing-and-miss. Perhaps it will be different with Choupo-Moting or perhaps he will be yet another to add onto the fire.