LAFC pick up Latif Blessing’s contract option for 2020

Los Angeles Football Club announced on Monday they have picked up the contract option for the 2020 season for Latif Blessing. The 22-year-old is in the middle of a career year, going from being a reserve winger to the starting midfielder in the LAFC lineup.

“Latif has proven to be a great fit for us on and off the field,” said LAFC general manager & EVP of soccer operations John Thorrington in a statement. “He is an exciting young player who continues to improve, and we look forward to his continued contributions in the coming seasons.”

To celebrate, Blessing released a...cryptic emoji subtweet?

Yeah, who knows, to be honest. I will say, I’ve been covering MLS very closely for going on a decade and I can’t remember the last time I saw an MLS team pick up a player’s option in the middle of a season. Usually, teams sign players to new deals altogether, or the contract option is picked up at the end of the season.

So to me, it seems like LAFC was concerned Blessing could leave the club on a free at the end of the season, possibly by signing a pre-contract when the summer transfer window opens in a couple weeks. Again, this isn’t a common operating procedure, but the team seemingly wanted to make sure they locked him up as long as they were able to on his current deal.

And since Blessing has become an important player for the black-and-gold as they seek to capture their first silverware, Bob Bradley will want coherence to keep his group together. It looks like Blessing will be around for the foreseeable future.

What do you think? Leave a comment below!