TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Report
An unnamed MLS team has inquired about Mexico international and current Cruz Azul midfielder Orbelin Pineda, according to a Thursday report from MARCA Claro's Jose Maria Garrido.
According to Garrido, there are a variety of teams interested in acquiring Pineda's services, one of which is the unidentified MLS club, which has been in contact with the board of directors of Cruz Azul to gauge his availability. Cruz Azul are reportedly driving a hard bargain for the player, as they reportedly don't want to part with Pineda for less than the $12 million they payed to Chivas Guadalajara to acquire Pineda in 2019.
One of the other clubs in play for Pineda are reportedly 2020 Concacaf Champions League-winner Tigres UANL.
It remains to be seen how serious the MLS interest is in Pineda, but he would certainly be an intriguing addition to the league. The 24-year-old has established himself as a mainstay in Liga MX since starting his professional career in 2014 with Queretaro FC, where he scored eight goals in 44 league appearances before moving onto Chivas, where he made another 102 appearances. He was moved to Cruz Azul in 2019, where he has seven goals in 62 appearances.
Pineda made his senior team debut for Mexico's national team in 2016, scoring two goals in 25 caps for El Tri.
He also might be familiar to MLS fans as an opponent in Concacaf Champions League. Pineda was a member of the 2018 CCL-winning Chivas squad that topped Toronto FC in penalty kicks in the final, and also featured for Cruz Azul in CCL play against LAFC this year (pictured above).
