By MATT PIKE
Ahead of the start of a new Major League Soccer season tomorrow, Sporting Kansas City announced a slew of moves on Thursday, moving one forward, and acquiring another to help on the frontline for new head coach Raphael Wicky.
Sporting acquired up to $1 million in General Allocation Money (GAM) from Toronto FC in exchange for forward Daniel Salloi, the club announced Thursday. Sporting will receive $300,000 in GAM and an additional $700,000 in GAM if certain performance-based incentives are achieved. Sporting retains a sell-on percentage should Salloi be transferred to another club.
Salloi signed with Sporting KC as a Homegrown Player in 2016 and went on to tally 67 goals and 47 assists in 287 appearances across all competitions for the club. The 29 year old forward departs Sporting as the second top scorer in the team’s history, tied with Dom Dwyer and Johnny Russell, and ranks fourth in goal contributions, while his 17 game-winning goals in the regular season are the most in club history.
Salloi also helped Sporting win the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, scoring the game-winner in the final, and was named an MLS All-Star and MVP finalist in 2021.
In a sort of corresponding move on Thursday, Sporting Kanas City acquired forward Taylor Calheira in a transfer from FC Tulsa in the USL Championship. Calheira signed a two-and-a-half-year MLS contract through the 2027-2028 season with club options for the following two seasons. Sporting acquired Calheira’s Discovery Priority from Minnesota United in exchange for $50,000 in 2026 GAM and an additional $25,000 in GAM if certain performance-based incentives are achieved.
Calheira has enjoyed a prolific start to his professional career, tallying 38 goals and 10 assists in 69 matches while representing FC Tulsa in the USL Championship in 2025 and NYCFC II in MLS NEXT Pro in 2024. The 23 year old forward joins Sporting after an impressive debut campaign with FC Tulsa in 2025, recording 21 goals and four assists in all competitions as Tulsa finished atop the Western Conference with a 16-5-9 record and reached the USL Championship Final.
Sporting begins the 2026 MLS season tomorrow with a trip to take on the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park with kickoff set for 9:30 p.m. The team will then return to Kansas City for the club’s home opener against the Columbus Crew at Sporting Park on February 28th at 7:30 p.m.
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