After taking several days to come up with the right emojis and ship one of those dope Bay FC varsity jackets, they finally made the announcement almost everyone knew was coming. Deyna Castellanos was revealed as the team’s first star signing.

While I’m annoyed at how long it took them to finally tell us, that doesn’t dampen my excitement over having Castellanos back in the States, and with a club that’s prepared to build around her.

So let’s look at what she does, the numbers it took to get here there, and how she might fit in.

what she does

The answer to this question pretty much depends on what shirt she’s wearing. For Florida State she was incredible, for Atletico Madrid she was a valuable linchpin to their attack when they qualified for the Champions League, but for Manchester City it hasn’t gone quite as well. But I wouldn’t recommend holding her Gareth Taylor days against her.

Anyway, Castellanos was once one of the most electric and exciting young talents in women’s football. Wild thing is, she’s still only 24 (turns 25 in April), so there’s still plenty time to remind everyone that she’s a mf’n baller just as she enters the prime athletic years.

Right foot, left foot, megs, twists, turns, elusiveness, volleys, free kicks – yeah, a mf’n baller. In 2017, as a teenager and while only playing for Venezuela, Florida State and Santa Clarita Blue Heat in United Women’s Soccer, Castellanos was on the three-player shortlist for The Best FIFA Women’s Player. These lists can be annoying but at the time included then-Barcelona’s Lieke Martens and Ol’ Wind Sprints herself.

FBref doesn’t have data prior to her time with Manchester City, which sucks. But the Wiki will tell you she scored 23 goals in 58 appearances (and surely added plenty of assists). Florida State’s own website doesn’t have stats pre-2019/20, but if we trust nolefan.org she ended her college career with 82 games played (80 appearances), 48 goals and 22 assists.

what it took

Though the NWSL mimics American sports leagues’ heavily owner-friendly regulations, Castellanos still got the bag. She signed a reported 4 year, $1.8million deal, with the fourth year being a mutual option between club and player. While it’s spread out over a peak of four years, that’s still a fairly big cap hit each year. I for one am not gonna start doing math in this newsletter, it was my worst subject once letters and formulas were introduced, and also I am almost a hundred-million percent sure that’s not what you’re here for.

What really may matter most, however, is that apparently a transfer fee was paid to Manchester City, but GM Lucy Rushton declined to give the number. It remains quite annoying that financial restrictions heavily impact squad building – including the NWSL’s very new and very dumb Net Transfer Threshold – yet accurate salaries, available allocation money, or incoming/outgoing transfer fees are not readily available.

The fee paid to City will certainly impact what Bay FC can do to continue adding talent around her, we just have no idea how severe they are or aren’t. If the NWSL is gonna be adamant on these restrictions, they need to be far more transparent.

how she fits

No disrespect to Scarlett Camberos, Tess Boade, Rachel Hill or Caroline Conti, but at the squad is currently constructed, Castellanos should be Bay FC’s standout star in attack. I love Castellanos’ game and absolutely hated her move to Manchester City, which wasted years of her pro career.

(And unfortunately not without precedent. Gareth Taylor found a way to waste a year of Rose Lavelle, nearly wasted years of Bunny Shaw [only Ellen White’s retirement stopped him], and is still in the process of wasting years of Mary Fowler. #FreeMaryFowler imo.)

While I think Castellanos is a natural fit for the NWSL, I’m not sure she’ll be truly unlocked unless Bay FC can add a central striker who’s a high volume shooter and/or constant threat to get in behind. If not, center backs and defensive midfielders will feel comfortable jumping out to occupy and deny space around the box. With the right type of striker those pockets above and across the backline would open up, giving Castellanos the space she needs to perform her magic.

This is why knowing financial details is important. Without an idea of the fee paid to Man City, we don’t know how much Bay FC have to spend on adding another top tier player in attack. We also don’t know where they are in terms of the $2.75m salary cap. Castellanos is certainly a chunk, but how big, and with other salaries added, it’s impossible to know how much flexibility they have, and the caliber of player they could recruit.

bottom line

Castellanos in the NWSL will be a mf’n delight, but Bay FC likely need one more move to lessen the burden and help get her back to her best form – where she seemed destined to become one of the best in the world.