Jim Curtin hopes the Union can somehow find a way to keep Kai Wagner

It might not reach the level of being a salvo, but Kai Wagner certainly got his point across Thursday night when he posted on Instagram that he was “preparing for my last regular season game at Subaru Park on Saturday.”

That was as clear a sign as any that he will leave town when he becomes a free agent after the season, since the Union have said they won’t pay him what he wants in a new deal. The Union’s last regular-season home game is Saturday against Nashville SC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled).

“Let’s enjoy it!!” Wagner added.

But that is easier said than done. The many fans who want the Union to keep Wagner, whatever it takes, no matter the consequences for the rest of the roster, have been complaining constantly on social media and in the stands.

» READ MORE: Ernst Tanner admits Kai Wagner could leave the Union this winter

On Friday, manager Jim Curtin weighed in, expressing a hope that a way will be found for Wagner to stay here.

“Call me an optimist — most people wouldn’t say I’m an optimist, but in this situation, I am still very optimistic and hopeful that he can stay here,” Curtin said. “I don’t write the checks. So hopefully something can get fixed and we could have him here, because we’re a better team with Kai.”

It’s worth reiterating a few significant details. The first is that if the Union give Wagner a Designated Player contract, they won’t be able to sign a Designated Player replacement for Julián Carranza should they sell him this winter — which they almost surely will. (If somehow they don’t, Wagner definitely won’t be able to get a DP deal.)

Nor should there be an expectation that the Union can buy down the cap hits of fellow DPs Mikael Uhre and Dániel Gazdag through MLS’s Targeted Allocation Money mechanism next year. Alejandro Bedoya, Jakob Glesnes, Andre Blake, and Jack Elliott are on TAM deals, and, while Bedoya’s future is uncertain, the amount of TAM per team is set to decrease next year by $320,000 as part of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, in an attempt to loosen the rule book. (The cap is going up by $625,000, a bigger increase than usual, and the DP threshold is going up by $32,500).

Lots of people would like to see TAM scrapped entirely, and converted into general funds. Perhaps Lionel Messi’s arrival will help speed that up. But for now, let’s assume the rules will stay as they are.

» READ MORE: Union forward Julián Carranza is focused on scoring goals, not European transfer rumors

Some fans would like to see Uhre thrown overboard for his lack of scoring this season, but his drought-breaker Wednesday was his 10th goal of the year, and his contract is guaranteed through next year. Gazdag became a DP with a new contract signed in January and presumably wouldn’t want to lose the status after just one year.

The second detail is that if Wagner wants to get back at the Union by going elsewhere in MLS, the CBA limits the raise he can get as a free agent in the league to 15% in the first year. The Union can make him a DP with a new deal, but otherwise, he has to go to Europe to get a really big increase in pay.

The third detail is one that a lot of fans have conveniently overlooked lately: the number of past offseasons where Wagner said he wanted to go back to Europe. Had the COVID-19 pandemic not cratered the international transfer market, especially in Wagner’s native Germany, he surely would have been sold long ago. Curtin knows it, sporting director Ernst Tanner knows it, everyone knows it.

“There’s always promises from various different agents or various different clubs in different places of the world, but when push comes to shove, Ernst can only react to what comes across his desk,” Curtin said. “And to be fair, not a ton did. And sometimes that reality can change the situation.”

There’s been no lack of calls over the years, including from England’s Fulham, Brentford, West Ham, and Leeds United. Go back in the The Inquirer’s archives, and the history is right there: in late 2020, late 2021, and late 2022. Each winter, there was a widespread belief he’d move on, and he played a role in creating it. But he never ended up leaving.

» READ MORE: Former Union broadcaster Danny Higginbotham remains a familiar voice with Apple TV

If Wagner has changed his mind now and really wants to stay, that’s news. It certainly got attention when Curtin said Friday: ”I know his family wants to be here, they want to stay, I think he’s voiced that.”

So it was only fair to ask Curtin if he thinks things are different now than they’ve been before. He didn’t say yes or no, but he acknowledged that it’s a valid question.

“I do think he can play in the Bundesliga, I do feel he can play in England, certainly in the [second-tier] Championship — I think he can play in so many leagues in the world,” Curtin said. “So sometimes I am surprised that the big offer didn’t come across for the best left back in the league. In some ways, that kept him here — and helped us win games as well.”

Two things are certain: Wagner will remain the best left back in MLS until he leaves, and he’s doing a really impressive job of giving his all in the meantime.

“I know a lot of people in a situation like this [who] would take the easy way, which is to just say, ‘I’m not even going to help the team,’ but he’s done everything a professional can do,” Curtin said. “When he steps on the field, he trains very hard, and he plays very hard in every game. … That’s not easy when you have other things on your mind — a family, travel, changing countries, whatever it might be — but he’s been great for us this season.”

» READ MORE: Union midfielder Dániel Gazdag has all but perfected the penalty kick. We asked him his secret.