Today's moves:
- LAFC signed José Cifuentes, a 20 year old Ecuadorian DM who comes from América de Quito. Cifuentes has been a regular with Ecuador's U20s and even started and scored in the QF in which they knocked out the US in last summer's WC. He made his full NT debut this past fall.
It seems like LAFC just keeps reloading. They are signing some fairly high profile young South Americans: LB Diego Palacios last summer (another Ecuadorian U20 who was linked to some big Euro clubs) and CM Francisco Ginella (Uruguay U20 starter) this winter. Brian Rodriguez (19 year old Uruguayan with six caps already) was brought in last summer as a backup winger.
It seems quite possible that Diego Rossi (21 year old Uruguayan winger) will be sold this winter, allowing Rodriguez to move into a starting role. Cifuentes could take over if/when 21 year old Eduard Atuesta (Colombia U23) is sold, etc. Palacios should take over from the aging Jordan Harvey right away.
The Latin American pipeline is impressive. The absolute elite, blue-chip prospects go straight to big Euro clubs but we're seeing more and more of the next tier of player coming from that region.
- Cincinnati sold 25 year old Swiss CM Leo Bertone to FC Thun. FCC's roster was horribly constructed last year — not just in terms of a talent deficit, but also in terms of the salary commitments they made. Bertone isn't the worst offender in terms of value, but it seems they are happy to shed his $500k salary nonetheless.
- Houston signed 25 year old Croatian/Austrian GK Marko Maric. He was on the books at Hoffenheim, but had spent the last two seasons on loan in Norway with Lillestrøm. The Dynamo jettisoned most of their GKs at the end of the season and still need to sign one more, so it remains to be seen if he'll be the starter or backup.
- Orlando signed 30 year old Brazilian CM Júnior Urso. Anecdotally, most signings from Brazil seem to be rotational starters in the top division or starters from the second division. These players tend to be fine, but usually not spectacular. Urso was a regular for Corinthians, though, so maybe he's a cut above. Also, looking at Corinthians' roster taught me that Vágner Love is still playing.
- FC Dallas signed Eddie Munjoma to a homegrown contract. Former academy kid who spent four years at SMU. He's not that young (21) but can play both fullback roles and apparently would have been a pretty high draft pick if eligible. In a few years, FCD could realistically run a team that is >50% academy products. They stand at 11/28 right now, though they'll probably lose Cannon and Pomykal at some point.
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