Charlotte FC hosting Chelsea on July 20?

Also: April Ticket Giveaway Winners for CLT FC v Miami

First things first: congratulations to Carlos & Kent, the winners of April’s ticket giveaway! Both fans scored two tickets to Saturday’s Charlotte FC match against Inter Miami for being subscribers to the Soccer Sheet. Hopefully, this Florida fixture goes better than Charlotte’s 2-1 loss in Orlando on Saturday.

Speaking of Orlando, it’s going to be the site of a friendly between Chelsea and Arsenal on July 23. Chelsea also has games stateside on July 16 and 20 against unannounced opponents, one of which is rumored to be Charlotte FC. Since Charlotte has an existing date in Miami on July 16, and the Blues are rumored to be playing in Las Vegas that day, a Chelsea match against Charlotte would have to occur on Wednesday, July 20. I wouldn’t cancel any birthday parties or family travel yet, but it’s never to early to book your babysitter.

In addition to Chelsea and Arsenal, a number of international friendlies are coming to the States this summer. FC Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga champion for the past decade, will play Manchester City in Green Bay and D.C. United in Washington. I need to start a list.

Back home, yesterday Charlotte FC signed Forward Kerwin Vargas from C.D. Feirense, a team in the second tier of Portugal’s football pyramid. “We’re excited to finalize the transfer of Kerwin to Charlotte FC ahead of the transfer window closing later this week. He has quickly proven to be a goalscoring threat at the professional level during his first season in Portugal and has the potential to grow into a well-rounded forward in this league,” said Charlotte FC Sporting Director Zoran Krneta in a release. “He’s a pacey, direct forward who can play on the wing or at striker and is a courageous competitor. He is excited about the move to Charlotte where he can continue to grow into his own in senior football and we look forward to welcoming him in the coming weeks.” If Charlotte wants to make any other moves, they don’t have much time: the Primary Transfer Window for MLS closes tomorrow.

Finally, my most recent column went live in Queen City Nerve last week, and I take a deeper dive into where Charlotte FC is after 10 matches. The analysis doesn’t include the disappointing loss to Orlando, but even though Charlotte has slipped to 10th in the Eastern Conference, I still think this is a team we’ll see in the playoffs - even without Adam Armour.

I’ll see you on Saturday at the Bank!