Transfers

The NWSL minimum salary will more than double for next season, from $7,200 to 15,000.

Woo.

Even if it is  (more than) doubling, that's not much in the way of an increase It still all but guarantees players will have to work second and even third jobs to be able to afford their bills, especially in expensive markets like Seattle, Portland, Chicago and Boston.

Among the big-name signings of Frank Lampard, David Villa and Andrea Pirlo, New York City FC owners, the Abu Dhabi United subsidiary City Football Group, were also keen to add one of America’s own. They got that in the form of USMNT midfielder Mix Diskerud, but he didn't come cheaply. 

It's unclear what Aston Villa chairman Dr. Tony Xia is a doctor of, but we think it might be math.

Xia, whose Twitter account is wildly entertaining and filled with optimistic projections for the future of his club (currently 13th in the Championship, but don't worry, Dr. Tony is on it), has been spouting off math problems in relation to the January transfer window lately.

China has big plans for 2017. The Chinese Football Association gathered in Beijing to go over financial details in hopes of transforming the country into a soccer powerhouse. President Xi Jinping is the country’s number one soccer fan and intends to have China perform in future World Cups, an achievement they've only managed once. 

If all of the Seattle Reign’s departures and questions this offseason left anyone thinking that perhaps they would settle for a rebuilding season, those assumptions have been proven incorrect. Manager Laura Harvey has kept Seattle in the hunt for titles ever since her arrival, and 2017 will be no different. On Monday, the club’s latest move confirmed their desire to win now. 

Those who seek sustenance on unfounded transfer gossip and rumor mill nonsense will now need to look beyond Christian Pulisic for nourishment — the 18-year-old American attacker has extended his deal with Borussia Dortmund until 2020.

Perhaps watching fellow Scandinavian prodigy Martin Odegaard struggle for minutes at Real Madrid while youngsters like Christian Pulisic, Ousmane Dembele and Emre Mor flourished at Borussia Dortmund was all 17-year-old Swedish phenom Alexander Isak needed to see. Sweden’s youngest ever goalscorer has opted to join BVB over Real Madrid for a fee of €10 million.