There were plenty of marquee signings during the primary transfer window in MLS, but the deadline came and went at midnight in central time last night without many more marquee moves. David Accam moved from the Philadelphia Union to Columbus Crew, who had already sent Justin Meram to Atlanta United. Young U.S. national team player Jonathan Lewis left New York City FC, where he struggled to earn playing time to join the Colorado Rapids, as Benny Feilhaber left the Rockies to rejoin Sporting Kansas City.

These were all moves within MLS, as the end of the primary window in MLS usually doesn't result in too many fireworks in players coming to the league from overseas. 

There was some talk though of D.C. United potentially making another move before Wednesday's deadline, but the Black-and-Red ultimately stood pat, with room to make more moves during the summer. Overall, United had plenty of successes in this window, dating back to December 2018. Lucas Rodriguez and Leonardo Jara were brought in on loan from Argentina and have not missed a beat as starters for Ben Olsen.

Chris McCann and Quincy Amarikwa were brought in before the start of the season to bring veteran MLS presences that are still required in the league to be successful. Neither has had a standout moment yet for D.C., but are more than capable of filling in when need be. Bill Hamid has the goalkeeper position locked down, but Chris Seitz and Earl Edwards Jr. have experience in the league should they be called upon at some point.

Donovan Pines headlines the group of youngsters for United, having started and played in four of the last five games for United. Griffin Yow, Akeem Ward, and Antonio Bustamante will likely spend most of their time with Loudoun United this year, though Yow already has a substitute appearance for D.C. while Ward has made the bench on several occasions. 

But then injuries hit United hard in April, as the Black-and-Red lost three outside backs in the space of a couple of games. That prompted Olsen to switch formations, and United also brought in left back Marquinhos Pedroso last week to help shore up the position with the absence of Joseph Mora.

United made the most of their squad thus far — about a third of the way through the season. Six wins from their first 11 games have them second in the Eastern Conference, tied with the Union on points. But as Olsen stated yesterday, there is always a need to improve in this league no matter how well off a team seems to be. 

“It’s an urgency you always have to have in this league. You have to look to get better, because that is the way the league is going,” said Olsen. “We’ve been able to manage the season so far, and grab points, but there’s been times we’ve gotten [points] the hard way, and we want to make the team better.”

In not adding any more players to their squad, United will now have to navigate the next nine games on the schedule before bringing in any more players. That doesn't seem like too big of an ask of a team with Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta, but international tournaments are going to take a couple of key contributors away from United this summer.

Chris Durkin, who recently covered for the injured Russell Canouse, will likely head to Poland with the U.S. U20s for the World Cup that starts on May 23 and runs until June 15. That could leave United without their third center midfield option for four of five games, as Durkin would likely depart next week. 

Junior Moreno will also likely go to the Copa America tournament in Brazil with Venezuela. Because of a break between June 2 and June 26 in the schedule, United probably won't be in a position in which both Durkin and Moreno are out. But Moreno has been one of the team's most consistent performers this year, and he could potentially miss two or three games of United's schedule at the end of June and beginning of July.

The Concacaf Gold Cup runs at a similar time as the Copa America, during which Paul Arriola should be a part of for the U.S. team. Again, because of the break, United likely won't miss Arriola for too much, but a run to the final for the USA could keep the winger/right back/left back/wherever Olsen slots him in for a game out for three D.C. games.

All of this occurs before the start of the secondary transfer window, which begins on July 9. United have two senior roster spots open, four roster slots in total. So there was room to add a player or two, even if they wouldn't have been starters. A healthy roster of 26 players would be more than enough in MLS, but Oniel Fisher and Chris Odoi-Atsem are still out long-term, in addition to injuries to Mora and Pines.

Add in the relative inexperience of the rookies, and Olsen has even fewer numbers to work with. That should change in the summer when transfers are a bit easier with most of the rest of the world in their offseason. But it will require a hell of job from Olsen and his squad to keep pace with the rest of the East.