Analysis: FC Dallas signs winger Daniel Job
As the international transfer window closed this week FC Dallas made one final splash, signing winger Daniel Job from Norwegian side Kongsvinger IL. Per the Athletic's Tom Bogert, the transfer fee for Job is around $5 million while occupying a U22 and international roster slot. From the club's press release:
“Daniel is a promising young winger who has excelled in Norway and generated a lot of interest from clubs across Europe,” said FC Dallas Chief Soccer Officer Andre Zanotta. “We believe he has a lot of upside and the qualities to continue developing at FC Dallas, and we’re excited to have him here. His speed and ability to attack defenders will give us another dynamic option in the final third and add another element to our attack.”
There's a lot to dig into here, so let's start small and work our way out.
About Job
Job is a Nigeria native who came out of Lagos' Future Pro Soccer Academy. Per the academy's website they've sent players to leagues in Serbia, Sweden, Turkey, and Spain among others. It's an emerging academy in Africa, with Job becoming the latest making a big money move.
After leaving Nigeria Job has spent his entire career in Norway before this latest transfer to Frisco. At Kongsvinger this year Job made 20 appearances posting eight goals and nine assists.
Per FC Dallas' scouting director Leo Baldo on the FC Dallas Agenda Wednesday several teams chased Job's signature this winter, including West Ham and West Brom to name two. It took Zanotta flying to Norway to get the deal done, as documented in this photo posted by the club:
Job is an explosive winger who gets high marks for his physical attributes and creativity. His ability to win 1v1s, beat defenders, and pick out passes in the final third drew lots of attention. If you want to see the best of Job, here's a highlight video worth perusing:
Dallas doesn't have a player with these skills, so bringing in someone who can lock pick defenses in a variety of ways is intriguing. This signing feels a lot like Kaick's last year: a high upside expensive youth that lots of folks haven't heard of contingent on development. So far that's worked out for Kaick; he's been linked to Premier League squads this year. Job could be the next in a line of talented youngsters who hopefully explode in MLS before garnering a large fee.
Where Does Job Fit?
This is where many supporters have raised questions. Job is a winger by trade, and famously Dallas' current system doesn't employ wingers. Meanwhile fellow wingers like Anderson Julio and Deedson haven't found purchase under Eric Quill for various reasons. There's reason to believe this is a square peg round hole signing at first blush.
Look a little under the surface and Job's signing is a positive one. He needs his visa so it's unclear when exactly he'll be eligible in Frisco, but when he does his immediate impact will probably be as a reserve game changer. Imagine chasing a game late with Job and Sam Sarver coming in. Opposing defenders will be on roller skates in a hurry. I wouldn't expect much starting wise in 2026, unless I've wildly misjudged the situation. Which, you know, possible.
Where I think we should start expecting more of the Nigerian is the sprint season and beyond. At this high a price tag, Job should be getting regular if not full-time starts for Dallas. Integrating him in this system at this time might be hard, but with two off-seasons and a mini season in front of them? That's an ideal way to add him in.
As to where? I think this could be the clearest indication we might see a return to the 4-2-3-1. Maybe not this year, but in February absolutely. Assuming Moreno is back on some sort of deal, a formation could look like this:
In this set up Job and Valiente are your wings and Moreno is the 10. You could see the latter two interchange into that center channel in case of opponents outnumbering you in the midfield. We've already seen both do so as dual 10s, so there's no reason they couldn't in this setup also.
Meanwhile you could still play Johansson as a wing back. Have him release high allowing the other three defenders to form a line of three like they have been all year. It'd also give cover to Valiente when he occupies that center channel as mentioned above. At its best you'd have Johansson join the attack flooding numbers forward into the box forcing bad choices from defenders. If you signed another high end center back or left back, you could move Moore back outside or Nolan back inside.
In short: this could be the culmination of all the formations Quill has used into one flex formation. Job could drop down, Johansson could move up and create the 3-4-3. Both wingers could drop a line forming the 4-4-2. Take off Moreno for another CB to form the 5-4-1. All of the chopping, changing, and training these first eighteen or so months could lead to this.
If you like a simpler approach to Job's signing, this could be a potential conversion project. Job's long term position might be left wing back (he's to date been a left winger) not unlike how Quill flipped Bernie Kamungo last year. The only possible hang-up there is Job's reputation currently is that he has work to do improving his defending. Which as a 21 year old attacker isn't a huge shock, but wing back requires equal parts offense and defense. If Job can't do the latter, emphasizing the former would be wise.
Why not any other position?
The other reasonable complaint raised by supporters is why didn't Dallas sign someone at a position of need. Specifically a central and/or defensive midfield, or which Dallas' depth is thin.
It's more than fair, and to be fair to Dallas they did indeed attempt such a move. In my last missive forever ago, I mentioned that Dallas had bids turned back for a pair of midfielders. The club wasn't ignorant to their needs, and even attempted to fix them.
Sam Hale
What it comes down to ultimately is timing and fit. Timing because this is the last weird summer window for Major League Soccer. While Dallas and the rest of MLS is mid-form charging for the playoffs, most of the world is getting ready for a new season. So you either deal with someone who isn't in form abroad, or you have to overpay because a team is giving up an in-season piece.
These aren't new problems, and it's a huge reason the MLS calendar change is coming. Aligning with the world calendar will remove most of these problems, giving MLS squads a bigger player pool from which to choose. Also it'll help cut down on situations where MLS teams sell for big numbers but can't replace with that money.
Fit because consider the parameters in which Dallas has to work. Not only do they have to find in this case a midfielder that fits the profile both on and off pitch, they then have to find one that a team is willing to sell, and then that team must be willing to settle on an affordable price. When you narrow the circle that much, and factor in that Dallas traditionally is not a high spending MLS franchise, this endeavor becomes harder for the front office people to achieve the goals in summer specifically.
Don't confuse this explanation as an excuse mind you. I've been on record both in writing and audio that the club should heavily invest in this iteration of the squad. They've earned it, and you never know when the moment will come around again. You push your chips in when you have a good hand, you don't wait for a hypothetical better hand later.
So yes you can both understand that Dallas' path to acquisition is not simply point, click, and spend while also lamenting that the biggest weakness of the current roster wasn't addressed. They're not opposing viewpoints.
Independent of all that, getting Job is an exciting addition. It's not every day this Frisco club beats out European giants for a signature, and that's cool. If the young man's hype to bang ratio comes out right, he'll be an exciting player for years to come.
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