Declined: Balchan, Mansally, Maund, Findley all have options declined

In an already unsure post-season for Real Salt Lake, four players have had their options declined by the Dec. 1 option date: Rich Balchan, Abdoulie Mansally, Aaron Maund, and Robbie Findley, the club confirmed today.

Rich Balchan had trouble staying fit in his tenure at Real Salt Lake, playing in four matches in two years, with none coming his first year. His final performance of 2014 was particularly woeful, as he came on as a substitute, played 32 minutes, and was substituted himself against Chivas USA.

Robbie Findley had a difficult year, earning minutes and showing marked improvement in build-up play, but he scored only one goal in 764 regular season minutes.

Abdoulie Mansally served as a backup left back, but he was never able to push past Chris Wingert in a search for regular starts. He played 30 matches over two-and-a-half years at the club. Discussions over a new contract are ongoing, according to a Salt Lake Tribune article.

Aaron Maund was at times an able backup and at other times a risky option defensively. He played nine matches since joining Real Salt Lake, and but for a short period at the beginning of 2014, he was consistently behind Carlos Salcedo at center back.

Interestingly, three of the four players with declined options are defenders, and with Carlos Salcedo declaring his intention to leave the club, there will be some interest in recharging the club's defensive options.

All four will go into the re-entry draft. Cole Grossman, Chris Wingert, and Nat Borchers have reportedly all been offered extensions to their contracts, but if they reject the offers, they, too, will go into the re-entry draft.