Luca de la Torre brought in to elevate Charlotte FC's progressive passing

By Brian Maurer

Luca de la Torre (photo courtesy of CJ Hellner/Topbin90)

Charlotte FC's General Manager Zoran Krneta stated that new midfield signing Luca de la Torre "connects play and excels in progressing the ball." This statement is a good indicator from the front office chief that they have a concern with their ball progression and aim to improve in that area this offseason.

The Crown finished the 2025 MLS season with the 18th most progressive passes*, placing them in the middle of the pack. In the final third, they were second-to-last in key passes and 14th in passes into the final third. All of these stats highlight that there is plenty of room for Charlotte to improve at progressing the ball into dangerous areas.

The lack of ball progression last season forced Charlotte to be very dependent on shooting efficiency (second in MLS in goals per shot on target), which worked in 2025, but it's difficult to rely on long-term if they don't find ways to improve their overall attacking volume.

In 2025, the Crown was second to last in shot-creating actions per 90 (18.59) and 26th in live pass SCAs per 90 (14.5). Ideally, de la Torre helps by connecting better passes to the forward line, who then have more opportunities to create, which theoretically gets these numbers up in 2026.

Luca de la Torre's 2025 passing stats compared to Charlotte FC's 2025 midfielders

Player	SCAs per 90	Live pass SCAs per 90	Progressive Actions per 90**	Passes into the final third
De la Torre	2.42	2.09	14.21	4.47
Westwood	2.31	1.72	7.16	6.06
Bronico	1.67	1.32	8.34	3.22
Diani	1.02	.94	6.25	4.92

Last season, the USMNT midfielder averaged 2.85 progressive carries, 5.91 progressive passes, and 5.45 progressive passes received per 90. When comparing his progressive stats to Charlotte's three primary midfielders from last year (Ashley Westwood, Brandt Bronico, and Djibril Diani), he beats them in all three progressive categories.

De la Torre averaged .94 key passes, 4.47 passes into the final third, and 1.06 passes into the penalty area per 90. Westwood had better numbers in all three of these categories, and Diani had slightly more passes into the final third.

The midfielder had 2.42 SCAs per 90 with 2.09 live pass SCAs per 90. Westwood led Charlotte's midfielders with 2.31 SCAs per 90 and 1.72 live pass SCAs per 90, giving de la Torre an edge compared to the Crown's current midfielders in helping build play towards a shot.

In 2025, Charlotte FC depended heavily on its shooting efficiency with limited attacking volume and ball progression. The signing of de la Torre indicates the team's aim to be stronger with the ball by controlling games in possession and moving the ball more methodically into dangerous areas on the field.

Author note: Many might ask why I didn't use Pep Biel as a midfielder comparable, but based on the way Biel is used and plays, he is far more of a forward based on his positioning than a midfielder.

*All stats used for this article were pulled from FBRef.com

**Progressive actions = Progressive carries + progressive passes + progressive passes received