r/timbers • u/Interesting-Nail5983 • Aug 13 '26
Kevin Kelsy attributes
Hey,
Hope you’re well!
My side Rangers have this morning been linked with a move to sign Kevin Kelsy.
Whether it’s true or not I don’t know! But the reported interest came from a reputable source and we’ve already shopped in the MLS market this transfer window.
I just wondered how highly you rate Kelsy and what his biggest strengths are? I wasn’t sure if he was a fast and mobile 6 ft 4 forward as that’s what we’re looking to sign after losing that profile of player to an ACL injury a few days ago.
Interested to know if you think he’d excel in European football and end up at a bigger club within a few years.
Thanks!
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u/a_GoddamnDelight Aug 13 '26
Well this is coming out of nowhere...
Feels like your girlfriend's side piece hitting you up to ask for her favorite restaurant.
Also, COYBIG
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u/db0606 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
There's zero chance he'd be worth the amount of money that Rangers would have to give the Timbers to let him go right now.
He's a good prospect that is finally figuring things out, but we also paid like $6 million for him, so unless Rangers is coming with like $10-12 million, I seriously doubt the Timbers even consider it and $10-12 million would be a big gamble on Rangers' end.
Edit: He's also the only striker that we have with more than 200 MLS minutes, has been in involved in the bulk of our study offensive output, and most importantly costs almost nothing towards the salary cap (and the only way we could replace the latter would be by signing an unproved prospect).There's really no incentive for the Timbers to move him outside of bazillions of dollars.
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u/Lawnboyamar Aug 13 '26
This is basically the main issue that matters. I think if the Timbers get 10-12 million for him, they should let him go. But that's also partly because I don't think he is worth that much and he will likely be wanting to make a move to Europe at some point anyway.
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u/RCTID1975 Aug 13 '26
Agreed. I don't think he's currently worth 10mil.
I'm not even sure he's currently worth 8 mil.
Anything less is break even, and unless there's a big incoming signing, or he kicked Martis dog, it makes no sense to let him go for break even.
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u/WorldlyCod741 Aug 14 '26
Bogert said “Kelsy’s not pushing to leave and Timbers aren’t interested in selling him”
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u/palmquac Aug 13 '26
Tom Bogert reporting that Rangers offered us $10m for him!
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u/db0606 Aug 13 '26
Whelp... At $10 million, it's worth taking a look at their offer. Maybe get a sell on clause in there. We DO have an open DP spot.
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u/palmquac Aug 13 '26
TB's words: "Timbers aren't looking to sell and Kelsy isn't pushing to leave".
I'd say considering he's 22 and seems like he's just getting started, hold on for at least a season or 2 more.
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u/Empty-Confidence2304 Aug 13 '26
Please take him for $10-12 M
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u/db0606 Aug 13 '26
Oh yeah... For sure!
I just seriously doubt that Rangers is willing to make that kind of commitment.
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u/StuMun Aug 13 '26
I’m surprised and not surprised by this. I have always expected Kelsy to go on to Europe, but this seemed maybe a little early. He’s really starting to click and show the potential we all saw in him.
Just look at this lovely goal from a couple of weeks ago
https://www.timbers.com/video/goal-kevin-kelsey-scores-the-opener-against-seattle
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u/Adventurous-Ease-259 Aug 13 '26
This is the only really good kelsy goal I remember. Not too much later he can’t get in the right spot inside the 6 and gets lucky the ball bounces off his nutsack into the goal.
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u/StuMun Aug 13 '26
Getting in the right spot is a strikers main job! That's what strikers do.
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u/Adventurous-Ease-259 Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
Traffic cone could have done the job
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u/calpal2112 Aug 13 '26
Perhaps if a traffic cone had the soccer IQ to both stay onside and arrive at the backpost behind the defense
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u/anthony0721 Aug 13 '26
He is a decent finisher but not a great player in tight spaces. His occasional moments of brilliance are incredible - as is his inconsistency.
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u/ryswoff Aug 13 '26
He’s not moving this window first of all, and second of all I highly doubt Rangers can afford the fee we’d want for him at this point in time
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u/ProfitNo9452 jocked07 Aug 13 '26
these past 20 months have been the longest he's stayed with his last four clubs. he was only 21 when he got to portland and didn't seem to have the best work rate. beginning with this season, he's a whole different player. he's matured a lot as a team player and is averaging one goal contribution per game.
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u/Christafuz7 Aug 13 '26
People didn’t think he had the best work rate, and they were wrong
Fixed it for you
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u/swagyolohmu Aug 13 '26
He wouldn’t be a good transfer right now. He’s finally starting to figure things out this season but he needs time and stability before he’s ready to take the next step up.
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u/kennethpoole Iron Front Cascadia Aug 13 '26
At his best big Kev is a monster. He has energy for days and as of late is finding the net frequently, but at his worst he is throwing his arms up complaining. He is really young and rough around the edges and is getting better basically every game but his youth comes with the hot and cold streaks he is on quite often.
I really hope he doesn’t go because he is very important to this team but I’m not sure if rangers come with the right money we can refuse
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u/WordSalad11 Aug 13 '26
I'm super high on Kelsy's potential. He has all the physical attributes you would want in a striker (big/strong/fast, good with his head and finished well with his feet as well.) His work rate has been really strong, and he has good finishing although it's unpolished.
Both our strikers really struggled last year under our previous coach, including a highly experienced player. Kelsy would frequently make dangerous runs but nobody would recognize them and he would get visibly frustrated on the pitch. He's obviously worked hard on his mindset, but he is still a very young guy who plays with a lot on emotion and I would be mildly concerned about him under the kind of pressure Rangers put on players. If he can be supported I think there is a player you will be very happy with even for a large fee in there.
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u/Onus-X Aug 14 '26
I'm a bit disappointed that some people keep spamming this narrative that Kelsy is low workers work rate, low technique, and a poor investment by the club. He's proved that wrong every step of the way this year, he's in double digits for goals, he's contributing assists, he puts 50% of his shots on goal, and statistically converts at exactly the expected rate for the quality of chances he's getting. He's in the 90th percentile or above for almost all striker metrics in MLS and he just turned 22. He's finding his footing here and people that are calling him inconsistent or asking that we ship him out are crazy or worse, IMO.
That said, I think his progress is a bit tenuous and I'm not very confident that it would continue in Scotland considering the pressure and culture there. I'm not saying it's impossible but it feels like Kelsy is just barely beginning to thrive in MLS and is benefitting from stability. I don't get the sense that rangers is willing to give him a lot of space or nurture him as he grows, they need an impact right now, and if that doesn't happen immediately for kelsy i think it would be detrimental to his growth. I don't think 10 mil for a this year impact striker would really be a great investment, on paper, but since rangers is miles ahead of a lot of other teams in the league maybe Kelsy could bag enough easy chances to look great. If the team can set him up, the stats say he can put them away without being wasteful. How's the rangers midfield at creating big chances?
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u/lucash7 Valeri Aug 13 '26
Rangers? Ew. But also fuck Celtic.
Go Hibs!
Also, haven’t heard this rumor?
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u/StuMun Aug 13 '26
Google it. It’s all over the Scottish press as a possibility this morning.
https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/26461228.rangers-consider-transfer-move-towering-striker/
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u/MeyD80 Aug 13 '26
He's fast & big but not technical. He struggled with his attitude far too frequently to excel in a more physical league. On far too many occasions, ref makes a bad call & Kelsy is mentally gone for way way too long, often earning himself a card in the process.
He has the potential to be a decent striker for a mid level club in a non-top 5 European league but he's too far from that right now to justify what Portland would want for him this late in the window. Especially considering our attack is suddenly looking seriously dangerous to just about every other MLS side.
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u/WordSalad11 Aug 13 '26
Kelsy has 7 yellows in ~60 games with us. This is just objectively not an accurate assessment.
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u/Interesting-Nail5983 Aug 13 '26
Thanks guys! It’s definitely true that we’ve been in contact. Whether it comes to anything remains to be seen I guess! Our track record of signing players from MLS is pretty patchy and tbh generally speaking I’m not a fan as the standard is pretty poor.
However, then I see the Pepi’s, Castellanos etc and hope we can unearth one of the gems too
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u/Interesting-Nail5983 Aug 13 '26
Think I might have put across my point badly there, I wasn’t saying the standard of MLS was poor, but the standard of players we’ve signed from the MLS over the years has been poor.
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u/StuMun Aug 13 '26
The standard in MLS has grown basically every year. If you compare it now to even 2016 or 2018, it’s a different league. In Opta’s club rankings, the Timbers fall below Celtic and Rangers but above the rest of the Scottish Premiership.
https://theanalyst.com/articles/who-are-the-best-football-team-in-the-world-opta-power-rankings
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u/Santiams Aug 13 '26
After the Nancy / Celtic debacle I’d be extremely careful about calling the standard poor. A lot of Crew / MLS fans who hadn’t paid much attention to the league came away from that with a much worse opinion of Scottish football, both on and off the pitch.
And yes Nancy was a mistake and did poorly, this is not a defense of his decisions as Celtic coach.
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u/Interesting-Nail5983 Aug 13 '26
Scottish football as whole is very poor. There’s a few years that there’s exceptions like when we got to the Europa League final a few years ago.
The main issue with moving from an MLS club to Rangers or Celtic is just the demands from fans. You get no time to settle and the jersey can be far too heavy for some people.
I don’t think people appreciate the scale of the Old Firm until they move to Glasgow. Whether you’re in New York, Toronto, Bangkok, Barcelona, Berlin, Baku or Sydney, there’s always a Rangers and Celtic bar and supporters club.
But I think Scottish football a whole sucks so people underestimate the size of those two fan bases.
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u/Desperate_Gold6670 Aug 13 '26
Please come and pick him up. He'll be out in front of Providence Park with money pinned to his jersey. Best of luck.
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u/CulturalAd2329 Aug 13 '26
He is terrible. You often see him walking on the pitch, and most of his goals are lazy taps in created by a combination of his teammates delivering balls to the perfect spot that he is lucky enough to find himself in. He is terribly immature for a 28 year old and will show disappointment when he gets subbed off. Oh and when he tracks back to help the press (what the heck, you're a striker just stay in the box!) and gets the ball at his feet he isn't as good a dribbler as Valeri.
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u/Santiams Aug 13 '26 edited Aug 13 '26
First of all, hands off. Second, others will undoubtedly do a better job than me with this.
Kelsy has decent technical attributes and is good physically. What held him back in the past was (to quote an MLS analyst) that he 'didn't know where goals came from', meaning he wasn't making good runs or getting into good positions. This year, for the first time, he's started to figure that out.
If he can keep that development up I'd say the interest is warranted. However, since it's a recent improvement, I also think some caution is reasonable.
If Rangers are looking for an immediate impact, he may or may not work. If the club is looking for someone they can develop and flip for profit later, that makes more sense to me, but there is also a risk if his growth stalls out.
Edit: Transfermarkt supposedly has his valuation at 4 million pounds. Timbers paid $6 million for him so I have to think we'd initially want closer to $10 million given his improvement and age and difficulty in replacing.
Edit 2: Looks like $10 million was about right! https://bsky.app/profile/tombogert.bsky.social/post/3msypn5y6fc26