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Welcome to the beginning of a new series of columns called Rumor Ramblings. These pieces will be published on an occasional basis, depending on how much transfer news there is to discuss. This won’t be the place where news is broken, but rather where it is analyzed and evaluated. With that said, let’s hop into the first edition...
The relentless transfer rumor mill began to spin this week. Journalist Pablo Ríos González snapped a pic of Manny Lagos and assistant coach Mark Watson scouting at a match between Colombian Categoría Primera A sides La Equidad and Tolima. Visitors Tolima pulled out a 1-0 victory on a penalty.
Anoche, en el partido entre La Equidad y Tolima, en el estadio de Techo, estuvieron presentes veedores del Minnesota United (@MNUFC), de la MLS. pic.twitter.com/Gy4hy9UhUI
— Pablo Ríos González (@pabloriosg) November 20, 2017
Lagos and other members of the Minnesota United front office and coaching staff have scouted before, that’s nothing special. In all honesty, this could amount to absolutely nothing, but then there wouldn’t be anything to write about.
Dr. Wes Burdine of FiftyFive.One put together a few players on the two teams that would be worth a look, but there are no concrete links—if links can be concrete—at this point. Some of the names on Burdine’s list are good enough to dive into highlight videos.
The fact that United has dispatched scouts this early in the offseason is promising though. The team seems to be showing some motivation in finding new players, and hopefully avoiding the #PANIC of last year’s roster building. Just to spice up the helping of rumor soup here, I’ll toss a ridiculous, albeit potential situation:
Remember the link between striker Christian Ramirez and the Colombian National Team? Ramirez has Colombian heritage and reportedly has shown interest in appearing for the country. It seems likely that a team in Colombia would be interested in Superman, so could there be a swap deal in the works? It’s crazy and really quite unrealistic, but possible nonetheless.
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To close out this first column, I’ll give the first entry on my offseason wishlist.
Santiago Montoya
Montoya plays for Tolima, one of the sides viewed by Minnesota’s scouts. He was named as a potential target in Burdine’s list, and looks to be the real deal. He has made one appearance for the Colombian National Team.
One of the biggest spots I’d like to see filled is the central attacking midfiedler, or number ten, role. Montoya primarily plays out on the left, but has also taken on a central position as well.
The Loons might have some competition though. Montoya is currently on loan from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama, but is drawing interest from other Colombian club Millonarios.