Jo Inge Berget, Sebastien Ibeagha left unprotected by NYCFC for MLS expansion draft

Forward Jo Inge Berget and defender Sebastien Ibeagha are among the 15 players left unprotected by New York City FC ahead of Tuesday’s Major League Soccer Expansion Draft, the club announced on Monday. 

FC Cincinnati will have a total of five selections and only one player from each of the 18 teams who will leave players unshielded can be selected. 

Berget and Ibeagha are the only NYCFC regulars attached to a list that includes six players whose contract options have been declined (Andre Rawls, Ebenezer Ofori, Eloi Amagat, Tommy McNamara, Kwame Awuah and Rodney Wallace), four who are under contract (Brad Stuver, Jeff Caldwell, Cedric Hountondji, Danny Bedoya), one with a Bona Fide offer (Saad Abdul-Salaam), one whose loan expired (Yangel Herrera) and a player who has signed with another club (David Villa).

Although FC Cincinnati can attempt to re-negotiate a contract with any player they select, it seems unlikely that they would consider Berget and a contract that paid the Norwegian a salary of $600,000 with a total compensation of $816,000 which ranked third on the team behind DP’s Villa ($5.6 million) and Maxi Moralez ($2 million), according to the salary guide released by the MLS Players Association. 

Berget recorded four goals and three assists in 23 matches.

Ibeagha, who appeared in 26 regular season games with 18 starts, could be a more desirable target for the expansion side, although it is difficult to determine FC Cincinnati’s personnel direction.

Coach Alan Koch and the club have been coy about revealing players already signed to prevent clubs from strategically placing players on the unprotected inventory.

New York City is one of 18 MLS clubs that will expose players to the draft. The Seattle Sounders, Sporting KC, San Jose Earthquakes, Columbus Crew SC and Toronto FC are all exempt after each had a player selected by LAFC in last year’s expansion draft.