MLS is now a transfer-market destination league, and investment in youth has played a big role in that

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1:25 PM ET

The summer transfer window ended the night of August 4th.

Some of the world's biggest names have moved to the league. Well-known international names like Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi joined Toronto FC last winter.

The window also saw younger players in their primes joining MLS sides, with formerWatford forward Cucho Hernandez joining the Columbus Crew, where he's already scored five goals in seven appearances. There was a move in the other direction, with the Chicago Fire goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina going to a new team.

MLS executive vice-president for competition and player relations Todd said there was a historic and significant increase in the expenditure of the acquisition of players. It has been a marked change from the previous level of spend and transfer fees received.

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MLS has become more of a player in the international market, according to the numbers. For the fourth year in a row, MLS paid more in transfer/acquisition fees than it had in the previous year. The revenue for outgoing players was $100 million. This doesn't include the sell-on fees for the likes of Chris Richards. There is a feeling that the arrivals in this window increased the pace.

The signings in this window are significant. Tim Bezbatchenko said that he did.

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Some trends were included in the window. The MLS has not been the first to welcome Chiellini, Bale and the others. David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco were both in the league. More players close to their prime began to move to MLS after Sebastian Giovinco arrived in Toronto at the age of 28.

There has been a steady stream of South American players who want to use the league as a platform for bigger things. Tyler Adams and Chris Richards are examples of MLS academy products moving in different directions. The difference now is that younger players with a lot of experience are moving to MLS, and as the example of Rayan Raveloson shows, a move to the league does not mean the end of a player's European ambitions.

The players who are ahead of their prime are looking to use the league to develop, win, and increase their market value. Maybe they'll go back to Europe, maybe they won't, but they recognize that this league is getting a lot of attention.

It is tempting to think that there was a sudden surge that crested over the dam. The proximity of the World Cup inQatar was one of the unique factors. The players in the market needed to get playing time in order to get on the World Cup roster. Bale and Matt Miazga were also in that category.

The LAFC co-president and GM said that the World Cup led to some opportunism, as players were looking from Europe, or players that were thinking about going to a World Cup. It was something that helped us this summer.

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There is a Saturday in August. There are 13 things.

• Cardiff vs. Birmingham, 7:25 a.m. ET

• Leverkusen vs. Augsburg, 9:20 a.m. ET

• RB Leipzig vs. 1. FC Köln, 9:20 a.m. ET

• Schalke 04 vs. Borussia M'bach, 12:20 p.m. ET

• Sunderland vs. Queens Park Rangers, 10 a.m. ET

• Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano, 2:30 p.m. ET

• Louisville City vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies, 7:30 p.m. ET

• Full schedule

Long-term planning is what led to what happened. The league's investment in its academies is related to this. MLS was caught in a vicious cycle for a long time, as teams weren't spending that much to build their rosters and the league's academy had yet to produce players that were in demand. The vicious cycle became a virtue after the international interest in academy products changed.

The transfers are fed by the transfers out. It used to be that teams viewed player investment as an expense.

The transfer fees that you receive increase, which allows you to invest more in the players, and so on, and so forth. That dynamic is something that I think is very important. We are turning the corner with regards to that.

Changes to the league's roster rules made it worthwhile for teams to engage in the transfer market. MLS used to take 25% of the fee. The majority of the money goes to the team, but depending on the player's classification, some can be converted into general allocation money. The team's discretionary spending can be funded by the rest. MLS clubs are more involved in the international market due to all of this.

A healthy league has that characteristic. "Not every league in the world can say they have assets like we have seen in the past year."

MLS has gained more attention from abroad. The league's stability and investment in infrastructure has made an impact on the game'secosystem.

It's clear to me that our young players and the interest they're getting from abroad or players in Europe see this as a really positive next step in their career.

In the past, when a player showed interest in MLS, there were a lot of agents and advisors who didn't think the league was a good place to start.

He said that it's almost the opposite. The player believes that the future of soccer in MLS is promising.

Can the league make it easier to transfer? The roster rules can get in the way of teams doing deals. The league's allocation order seems to have outlived its usefulness.

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There is a Saturday in August. There are 13 things.

• Red Bulls vs. Orlando (6 p.m. ET)

• Cincinnati vs. Atlanta (7:30 p.m. ET)

• New England vs. D.C. (7:30 p.m. ET)

• Philadelphia vs. Chicago (7:30 p.m. ET)

• Toronto vs. Portland (7:30 p.m. ET)

• Miami vs. NYCFC (8 p.m. ET)

• Austin vs. Kansas City (9 p.m. ET)

• Colorado vs. Columbus (9 p.m. ET)

• Dallas vs. San Jose (9 p.m. ET)

• Houston vs. Montreal (9 p.m. ET)

• LA Galaxy vs. Vancouver (10 p.m. ET)

• LAFC vs. Charlotte (10:30 p.m. ET)

There is a Sunday in the month of August. Fourteen.

• Seattle vs. Salt Lake (10 p.m. ET)

MLS wants to avoid any hint of teams bidding against each other for players in order to suppress spending. Changes will likely be around the edges. Increasing the investment in academies will lead to growth in the transfer market. Adding academy prospects to a team's scouting department will aid that goal, according to him. The bigger the net, the better the chances of finding a talent. Homegrown territories, which give MLS teams first dibs on young players from their geographic area, will need to be modified or eliminated.

There have been discussions about going into other territories. If the territories were exclusive, we might not have an opportunity to bring in players.

The league will soon announce changes to the domestic rules.

MLS teams have to consider the pros and cons of letting a key player go in the middle of the season, like New York City FC did in the case of Valentin Castellanos. The calendar is becoming less of an issue in that overseas teams are more patient and willing to negotiate over multiple windows for a player, but the dynamic isn't going away. He told them to roll with it.

Maintaining the status quo won't be enough to sustain the current level of momentum. The hockey stick growth that happened in the past year isn't expected by Durbin. He isn't calling the summer window a tipping point, but he is still optimistic.

He said that you're going to continue to see that grow. The level that has accelerated over the last two or three years is our hope. The story is still being told.