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Berhalter hints Crew's roster likely set despite dearth of moves

Reuters

The Columbus Crew's current crop of players showed head coach Gregg Berhalter they can compete with the league's best by making it all the way to the MLS Cup final.

It's why there's much less pressure on Berhalter to pull the trigger on player signings this offseason, with the brunt of his squad already figured out.

"Our objective in the offseason was to make the team stronger than it was last year," Berhalter told reporters. "It was simple. But it gets harder to do that as you have a better team. You either have to get rid of (starters) and replace them or you have to bring in better guys underneath them.

"It's much tougher financially. As your team gets better, to bring in guys better than what you have, it's hard. It's a lot of money on the international market."

Related: Crew boss Berhalter says Casey, Ashe bring much-needed experience

The Crew haven't shied away from making signings, but with a $3.7-million salary cap, Berhalter says there isn't much room for a big splash, either.

"Speaking hypothetically, the only thing that would be done 'big' is if an existing player went elsewhere," Berhalter said. "That's the only way we could manage it from a cap standpoint."

That's not the kind of news Crew fans will want to hear, however, as star forward Kei Kamara is currently involved in a contract dispute with the club.

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