Image by St. Louis City SC

As City SC begins the second half of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, it appears they’re playing for pride after their devastating loss on the road against FC Dallas last Saturday before the All-Star break. The team currently sits second-to-last in the Western Conference with 18 points and has 11 games remaining. The team had to make major adjustments to its roster during the Major League Soccer transaction window. The biggest happened earlier this week when they added 23-year-old Sang Bin Jeong for a fee of $1.6 million, with $400,000 in performance incentives from Minnesota United FC.

“Jeong is an exciting attacking player with great pace and creativity in the final third,” said Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel. “He brings versatility to our attack, the ability to stretch defenses with his runs in behind, and a high work rate that fits perfectly with our intense style of play.”

They also added Devin Padelford on loan from Minnesota United FC, who was the club’s first Homegrown Player out of the club’s Academy in 2022, where he made 22 starts and contributed one assist with the MLS NEXT Pro side, MNUFC2. And finally, CITY signed Senegalese defender Fallou Fall from Norwegian club Fredrikstad FK. The 21-year-old Fall made 10 appearances in the Norwegian Eliteserien League this season with Fredrikstad FK, starting every match and playing over 880 minutes. Fall was a huge contributor to the Fredrikstad squad that won the 2024 Norwegian Cup, the club’s first in over a decade. While it’s a long shot that Padelford and Fall will make a big difference this season, it is expected that Jeong to make a huge impact for the team that has struggled to score goals throughout much of the season. The playoff spot is out of reach, and for now, they’re playing for pride. It’s also a move that could spell the end of several key players, as Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel will have to make major changes going forward.