With trade talks, did SDFC offer clue to ‘Chucky’ Lozano’s future in San Diego?

With one of the best debut seasons in MLS history behind them and a new season on the
horizon, San Diego FC now has a big question to answer: what to do with forward Hirving
“Chucky” Lozano?

That question is lingering, following a grateful, but cryptic message from Lozano and a flurry of SDFC moves, the latest reported on Saturday that includes a player who could be a replacement for the star winger.

Lozano, a high profile player who was one of the five highest paid footballers in the league
last year at $7.6 million, was suspended and then benched after a locker room incident in which he lashed out at the coaching staff when he was pulled at halftime of a regular-season match against Houston Dynamo FC in October.

After details of the incident were leaked to the media, Lozano issued an apology. He knew he didn’t react the right way to the situation, he said, and he had “taken responsibility, addressed it and moved forward.”

However, he still sat out two consecutive matches before coming off the bench for a playoff
game against the Portland Timbers. But Lozano never regained his starting role, coming off the bench the remainder of the playoffs and the man who benched him, SDFC head coach Mikey Varas, remained tight lipped about the situation.

During the postseason, No. 1 seeded SDFC made it as far as the Western Conference final,
but its run ended with a 3-1 loss at home to Vancouver Whitecaps FC. In the post-match press conference, Varas didn’t craft an artful response – he simply refused to comment on Lozano’s future with the team.

“I won’t answer that,” he responded to a question.

During the same press conference, team captain Jeppe Tverskov said that Lozano’s status
wasn’t a distraction during the postseason, and complimented the winger’s skills.

“I actually think we handled it pretty well,” he said of the matter. “We know he’s a great player
and we love having him on our team.”

The club has declined to comment on Lozano’s status since the end of its season, but on
Saturday, The Athletic reported that San Diego was set to trade a draft pick to the New York Red Bulls for productive, but often-injured, midfielder Lewis Morgan, 29.

Morgan, a native of Scotland who was with the Red Bulls for four seasons, is a winger who
only played in three matches during the 2025 season due to knee and quad injuries, but scored 13 goals in 29 appearances for NY the year before.

In February, Morgan signed a two-year contract extension through 2026 with the Red Bulls
that includes options for 2027 and 2028. According to the MLS Players Association, Morgan
was paid about $1.3 million this past season. New York is covering a portion of Morgan’s 2026
salary, according to The Athletic.

The trade news came days after a flurry of year-end roster moves was announced by San
Diego. On Tuesday, the club said that it declined a contract option for midfielder Luca de la
Torre, a San Diego native, who was on loan from Spanish soccer club Celta de Vigo.

The team has, however, exercised contract options on goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega, defender
Ian Pilcher and midfielder Aníbal Godoy. Additionally, SDFC exercised two permanent transfer options: one to acquire midfielder Onni Valakari from Pafos FC in Cyprus through 2028 and the other to acquire midfielder David Vazquez from the Philadelphia Union.

Under the terms, the Union would receive up to $500,000 if certain performance metrics are
met. Notably, SDFC also said it has signed veteran forward Amahl Pellegrino, 35, to a new
contract through 2026 with club options through 2027 and 2028.

Pellegrino, acquired by San Diego in August, is the player who took Lozano’s place in SDFC’s starting lineup late in the season. He performed relatively well, contributing three goals in the playoffs. That’s compared to two goals and an assist for Lozano, who’s five years younger than Pellegrino, but has a history of hamstring issues that kept him out of games early in the season.

Although the team has not clarified Lozano’s status, the day after San Diego’s season ended,
Lozano himself posted a reflective note on social media paying tribute to San Diego’s historic
first MLS campaign.

“This season didn’t end the way we imagined, but it did end the way it should have: leaving
us proud, touched and deeply grateful,” he posted in Spanish on social media Nov. 30, along
with a photo of the team’s roster and staff members.

“We didn’t get the ending we wanted, but we lived a story more beautiful than we imagined,”
the statement continued. “This is just getting started. And what a privilege to have been a part.”

Was this meant as a goodbye? Time will tell. But it won’t be too long before fans find out if
Lozano will begin the 2026 season on San Diego’s roster.

SDFC kicks off its sophomore MLS season with a Feb. 21 home match against Montreal FC,
marking the first time that the two sides will face each other. But even before then, San
Diego will be in action due to its participation in the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup, a
tournament featuring the best teams in North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

SDFC faces Mexican league club Pumas UNAM in round 1 on Feb. 3 at Snapdragon
Stadium, then plays leg 2 at Pumas on Feb. 10 in Mexico City.

San Diego also has been confirmed as one of a dozen MLS clubs participating in the Coachella Valley Invitational, taking place Feb. 7-21 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.

The full match schedule is expected to be released by the end of the year. Other participating teams include the LA Galaxy and Los Angeles Football Club, two franchises that SDFC established heated rivalries with during its inaugural season.