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MLS Expansion Draft: LAFC begins roster building with 5 strong picks

Nigel Roddis / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The 2018 MLS Expansion Draft has come to a close, with Los Angeles FC picking a total of five players Tuesday ahead of its inaugural season. Head coach Bob Bradley could round out his ranks with these five picks, or potentially use them as assets for further trades within the league.

Here's how the draft went down:

Pick Player Team
1 Tyler Miller Seattle Sounders
2 Latif Blessing Sporting Kansas City
3 Marco Urena San Jose Earthquakes
4 Jukka Raitala Columbus Crew
5 Raheem Edwards Toronto FC

Goalkeeper Tyler Miller played just a pair of matches for the Seattle Sounders in 2017, including a post-season tilt against the Houston Dynamo en route to the team's eventual spot in the MLS Cup final. The 6-foot-4 shot-stopper spent two seasons with the club, but rarely challenged Stefan Frei for a starting role.

With a salary of $74,379 last season at Sporting Kansas City, Latif Blessing is a great value pick for Bradley's side: The 20-year-old Ghanaian winger played 26 times in his debut season, scoring three goals and recording one assist. He was named the Ghana Premier League player of the year in 2016, pointing to a potential upside not yet fully discovered under Peter Vermes.

Marco Urena, meanwhile, offers a bit more experience. The 27-year-old also made his MLS debut this season, playing 26 matches, scoring five goals, and recording three assists. The Costa Rica international is somewhat pricier than Blessing was, with a salary of $275,004 in 2017.

LAFC rounded out its expansion draft with a pair of left-back options, plucking Jukka Raitala out of the Columbus Crew and Raheem Edwards out of Toronto FC. Raitala, 29, joined the Crew this season, playing 30 times and recording a pair of assists, and has plenty of experience with Finland.

Edwards, 22, went into his second year at TFC with heightened expectations - and delivered, scoring once and recording six assists in 22 matches. The young Canada international was a fan favourite with the MLS Cup-winning Reds, but reports out of Toronto say there's no deal to bring him back.

Whether Toronto FC orchestrates a move to retain a local talent remains to be seen, but LAFC could play Edwards in a more advanced position, and his versatility certainly came in handy for Greg Vanney's side this year.

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