U.S. forward Eddie Johnson earlier this summer at RFK Stadium. (Photo by Francis Chung)

D.C. United made what’s likely to be their biggest off-season move yesterday, acquiring U.S. Men’s National Team forward Eddie Johnson from the Seattle Sounders in exchange for a pile of allocation cash. While there’s no denying that EJ is among the best strikers in MLS, he’s also often discussed for the wrong reasons — his flair for the dramatic on the pitch has too often been matched by drama in the locker room or front office of the club that employs him.

So how will this all pan out? Only time will tell, but that’s not going to keep us from speculating: I’ve gathered my Open Wide For Some Soccer compatriots for a quick roundtable.

Thomas Floyd, Goal, The Washington Times, @ThomasFloyd10: Make no mistake about it: D.C. United is a vastly better soccer team now that Eddie Johnson is onboard. For the first time since 2009, United enters a season with a proven MLS striker after Danny Allsopp, Charlie Davies, Hamdi Salihi and Rafael flamed out. The concerns? Johnson’s attitude in the locker room will obviously be questioned after he essentially played his way out of Seattle with his pleas for a raise. But United coach Ben Olsen knows what he’s getting with Johnson after they played together at the 2006 World Cup and 2007 Copa America. (Olsen also made Johnson a coach’s pick for the 2012 All-Star Game.) I’m more interested in seeing how (if?) Olsen tweaks his system to get Johnson the type of service he thrives on, since United’s current crop of wingers tends to cut inside and attack on the dribble rather than pump balls into the box. If United can get the ball onto Johnson’s head with regularity, the goals — and the ascension in the standings — will come.

Dan Dickinson, Gothamist, @GothamistDan: I don’t think there’s any denying that Eddie is a talented striker, one who has shown good potential after returning to MLS. But there’s two very big caveats on his ability, the first being that he needs quality service. The Chris Pontius and Nick DeLeon of 2012 could provide that, but the 2013 versions could not — and Davy Arnaud hasn’t been dominating the assist column since 2007. With the attack provisionally upgraded, United would be well served with bolstering the wings to ensure Eddie can smack pound in goals.

The larger issue, far outweighing his talents, is his attitude. Few Sounders fans seem to be heartbroken about his departure, whether it was his “pay me” celebration in Columbus or his fighting with Sigi Schmid that led to him being turned away from practice as Seattle collapsed late season. He appears to have gotten his payday with United, which should motivate him — but for how long? If things start to fall apart, as they did last season for D.C., how long until he starts butting heads with Olsen and poisoning the locker room? Like Charlie Kelly, he’s a wildcard, and I don’t want to be anywhere around when he thinks cutting the brakes to the van is a smart move.

Seth Vertelney, Goal, @svertgoalcom: Let’s get the obvious part out of the way first: Eddie Johnson is a huge, massive upgrade for D.C. United’s strike force, one that, lest we forget, was led in goals last season by OWN GOAL. Johnson has shown the ability to score frequently in his return to MLS, with 23 goals in two seasons making his infamous “pay me” celebration this summer slightly less outlandish.

There are also concerns as well. Johnson isn’t exactly known as a strong locker room presence (see: aforementioned “pay me” incident), but a more pressing concern may be that he will turn 30 in the first month of the 2014 season. For a player who relies on his athleticism more than most, it’s a concern how much longer he’ll be able to score goals as he’s done so often in the last couple years — by out-jumping everyone.

Still, the move addresses what for me was the team’s biggest concern heading into the offseason. By acquiring a national-team caliber forward, United has taken another big step toward respectability.

Pablo Maurer, DCist @MLSist To say Eddie Johnson is an upgrade to United’s anemic attack is to do a disservice to the word “upgrade.” We’re talking about a team that set several all-time MLS records for offensive futility last year, so bringing anybody in would’ve been an upgrade. EJ is a cut above. D.C. have certainly gone above and beyond what many of their fans expected in acquiring him, and it’s a move that could very well pan out.

That having been said, I have a few basic concerns. Thomas and Dan touched on my major tactical concern: service. There were few teams worse at crossing the ball than D.C. United were last year, and EJ is certainly a player who thrives on well-placed crosses and corners alike. Hopefully a healthy Chris Pontius and Nick Deleon will be able to provide him with the service he needs. Otherwise, D.C. may still need additional help in midfield.

But 99 percent of my concerns — and I think many observers of the black and red share them — are related to how EJ will fit in to a young, still developing locker room. Even during the darkest moments of their 2013 campaign, United’s core stuck together — never becoming the traveling circus that, say, our local area football team has become. I’m interested to see how United head coach Ben Olsen, one of MLS’ more “no nonsense” types, deals with EJ’s often outspoken nature.

If Eddie Johnson can keep his antics under check, perhaps channel more of his national team behavior (he’s said to “turn the volume way down” during his time with the USMNT) and less of his “pay me”-type behavior, this is a risk that may very well play out in D.C. United’s favor.