Real Salt Lake’s biggest move last winter was signing center forward Sam Johnson. The 26 year-old Liberian forward is the first pure center forward since the departure of Álvaro Saborío.
Johnson is fairly low on the Designated Player pay scale, which points to him likely being bought down to the TAM level in future. He joined Real Salt Lake from Norwegian club Vålerenga after having spent a single season there. Johnson has been a journeyman throughout his career, having played with ten teams throughout his career but is a regular with his national.
During preseason training, Johnson picked up a slight ankle injury that prevented him from participating in the team’s preseason matches, but he continued to train.