LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Racing Louisville FC sent another popular player packing on Monday, dealing striker Ebony Salmon to the Houston Dash in exchange for $175,000 in allocation money.
No NWSL club has been more active in moving current players this season. Salmon marks the fifth the team has parted ways with since June 9, including some popular names like CeCe Kizer and Addison Merrick – sent back home to Kansas City for allocation money and an additional international slot -- as well as original draftee Tobin Heath, who was sent to Portland for allocation money after showing no interest in Louisville for two years.
Kizer had requested a move back to her hometown. Racing also waived Erin Simon to allow her to pursue an opportunity Europe.
Salmon arrived in Louisville from Bristol City FC with a splash, scoring less than a minute into her Racing debut last season. She scored six goals across all competitions in 2021, and figured to produce more scoring in 2022, but saw only 70 minutes of action in nine games under new coach Kim Björkegren.
With six months left on her current deal and little playing time on the horizon, O’Connor approached her about a move and she was receptive.
“I think from Ebony's standpoint, she obviously wanted to play, wanted to get more minutes,” O’Connor said. “It's difficult. When you look, thankfully now we've got Nadia Nadim, we've got Jessica McDonald. So, I think when you look at the minutes Ebony had last year to this year, and the evolvement of the squad, you've got a World Cup winner, you've got world-class player in Nadim, and you've got a young player who's full of enthusiasm and wants to play. So, I think it was a case when a situation like that arises is okay, what's best for everyone. And I think in this instance, was a move for Ebony. From our standpoint, she had six months left on a contract, and it's a significant fee. . . . I think it's a deal that makes a lot of sense for everyone. There's no doubting Ebony's talent. She's a great young player. And we wish her the very best for the for the future.”
Salmon expressed her thanks to the club in a statement released by the club, but speaking with The Striker, a publication covering Texas soccer, she expressed frustration with Björkegren, saying she’d asked about her lack of playing time and gotten answers that either weren’t clear to her or that she disagreed with.
She said when O’Connor approached her about at trade a couple of weeks ago, communication with the coach seemed to break down.
“I asked questions multiple times and didn't really get the answer that I wanted or a definitive answer that I agreed with, which was frustrating. But then you have to agree with the coach's opinion,” Salmon told The Striker. “I wanted to stick it out and give it a chance to prove myself. I think I was at a point where I'd kind of given it long enough. I'm not going to play here. I need to go somewhere where I am going to play and where I'm valued.”
Racing Louisville FC coach Kim Björkegren before a home match on June 4, 2022.
O’Connor said he wasn’t aware of a communication problem and felt Björkegren had clearly expressed his expectations in the one meeting he sat in on. Björkegren’s main public answer to a question about Salmon had been to say that a striker’s job was about more than scoring goals, but also in attending to matters when the ball is on the other end or away from goal.
“I suppose that will come as a bit of a surprise to me,” O’Connor said, when asked about Salmon’s comments. “I was in one particular meeting, we came and he was very definitive on what the expectations were. I think for me it was pretty clear. So again, I think there's always going to be, in a situation like this where players aren’t playing, perhaps a little bit of gray area as to why that wasn't happening. There’s always a relationship piece, and people want to know, where did they fall out or did they not like each other? I think it was it was very cordial professional relationship and certainly in that meeting that I was in it was very definitive as to what the expectations were.”
Regardless, Racing will move forward in remaking its club. In looking at the number of original players who no longer are with the franchise, O’Connor said in one way it’s to be expected given the rules in place for Louisville’s expansion draft. NWSL clubs were allowed to protect 11 players when Racing was drafting in 2020 (when Angel City and San Diego were drafting for expansion clubs a year later, teams could protect only nine players).
Another factor has been the change in coaches, after original coach Christy Holly was let go during the club’s inaugural season. O’Connor said Björkegren prefers a smaller roster, and that he’s looking to add speed on the wings and perhaps another midfielder.
He added that looking at the value of players when drafted versus the value when dealt, he thinks the club has done a good job of managing the talent it originally selected – even if not much of it is left on the roster.
“You have to remember, we were getting players that were 12, 13 on the roster,” O’Connor said. “It was a different set of rules that we came in with. But we’re a very ambitious group . . . and we were able to build asset value. We were really intentional about trying to make sure that we fulfilled the culture’s obligations but also the club’s obligations, building that asset value and trying to get real, quality players. And international slots have become very important and I think we’ve done a good job managing those. Even with the Ebony deal, she was signed for free and she’s leaving for $175,000, CeCe and Addie, they’ve left for $150,000 and two international slots. If you break it down on the granular level, we’ve actually done really well on the asset side.
“The key now as we continue to build is can we get some of the bigger-name players that we want playing here for us and performing for us on the field. We’ve been able to get Gemma (Bonner) and Nadia and Jess, who are some key players we’ve been able to bring in. But it takes a little time. We’re very excited about the players we have here and the players we have coming in.”
Racing Louisville is one of four clubs with 9 points, sitting just behind sixth-place Angel City in the NWSL standings. This weekend, the club will play in a high-profile game against 11th-place Orlando on a special pitch constructed in the infield of Daytona International Speedway.
And O’Connor said that some news in the upcoming weeks might make the move with Salmon make sense to fans who are scratching their heads.
“We all want to win this year,” he said. “There's ongoing negotiations. We're close with one particular European player, there's other negotiations going on with some other players. So I think in the next 7-10 days, there'll be some exciting news that I think everyone will sort of see.”
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