The Major League Soccer transfer window — defined by league rules as “the dates between which MLS may request the transfer certificate of a player under contract in another country” — closes at 2 p.m. this afternoon. That is not, however, as definitive as it might sound.
For one, rosters don’t actually freeze until Sept. 15. So out-of-contract players between clubs like say, Andreas Ivanschitz, are still up for grabs for more than a month.
For another, Thursday afternoon is just the deadline for submitting paperwork. Official club signing releases will still trickle out over the next week or so, especially from teams like the Sounders that prefer to have every t crossed and i dotted before going public.