Santiago Muñoz, a 22-year-old forward who has played more than 70 games in the Mexican League, is about to embark on a new journey in MLS. Sporting Kansas City officially announced on Tuesday that the team has loaned Muñoz from Santos Laguna with an option to buy out. The forward, who holds dual citizenship in the United States and Mexico, hopes to use this opportunity to revive his career.

Muñoz played only 12 times for Santos in the 2025 spring league, and the team experienced the worst season in its history, finishing last with only 7 points. Against the backdrop of the team's poor performance and limited trust from coach Fernando Ortiz, Muñoz's playing opportunities were limited, and his departure was expected.

The joining of Sporting Kansas City comes at a time when the club's management has changed. Peter Wilmes, who has coached for many years, parted ways with the team peacefully, and assistant coach Carey Zavanian took over as interim head coach. Currently, the team has only 7 points in the first 9 rounds of the 2025 season, ranking 13th in the Western Conference, and urgently needs new players to activate the offensive end.

Although forwards Dejan Jovelic and Daniel Saloi have contributed 9 goals together, the team's overall offensive end still lacks stable firepower. During his time at Santos, Muñoz made 81 appearances, 73 of which were in the Mexican Super League, and scored 6 goals. Although the data is not impressive, his potential and versatility still make the club expect him to become an important piece of the team's puzzle.

It is worth mentioning that Muñoz went to Newcastle United in England in 2022, but failed to gain a foothold and then returned to Santos. At the national team level, although he has represented Mexico in the U17, U21 and U23 youth teams and was selected for the national team training list coached by Javier Aguirre in early 2024, he has not yet played in an official match for the adult national team and is still eligible to play for the US team.

This Saturday, Sporting Kansas City will challenge FC Cincinnati away, and Munoz is expected to make his MLS debut.