UPDATE: On Monday afternoon Houston sports anchor and former Dynamo communications executive Lester Gretsch tweeted out confirmation that Houston are interested in Elis:
Three more talented Latin American attackers have been linked to MLS moves as the winter transfer season cranks into high gear.
A new report by Honduran outlet Diez claims that Sporting Kansas City and the Houston Dynamo are among the leading suitors for Alberth Elis, a 20-year-old striker who turned heads as a member of the Honduras Olympic squad in Brazil last summer.
Elis has found his opportunities limited at Mexican side Monterrey since arriving in August on what is reportedly a four-year contract, and the Liga MX powerhouse is interested in loaning him out to gain more experience. He bid farewell to Rayados supporters on social media this week.
The lanky frontrunner scored two goals to sink the US U-23s in the semifinals of the 2015 CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament (pictured above) before helping Honduras mount a run to the Olympic semifinals. Elis has already contributed to his country's senior national team, scoring a goal for Los Catrachos vs. El Salvador in the semifinal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Costa Rica has also been a major shopping destination for MLS scouts, and D.C. United are apparently ready to make Jose Guillermo Ortiz the league's latest Tico arrival.
Multiple outlets reported on D.C.'s interest inthe Costa Rican attacker in early December, and on Friday the Washington Post's Steven Goff tweeted that the 24-year-old – who scored twice in Alajuelense's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal defeat of D.C. last year – would indeed join United on loan, with an option to buy.
Further south, Tabare Viudez could add to the growing number of Uruguayans in MLS, according to a report by Ovacion on Saturday. The well-traveled 27-year-old striker has plied his trade at major destinations like AC Milan, Club América and River Plate, and most recently helped Nacional win the Torneo Apertura, the first half of Uruguay's 2016-17 Primera Division campaign.
Viudez is capable of playing multiple attacking roles and was a teammate of Seattle Sounders star Nicolas Lodeiro in the Uruguayan youth national team ranks. Ovacion claims that Viudez has drawn transfer interest from an unnamed MLS team as well as a Brazilian club, though apparently no formal offer has been submitted to Nacional yet. Lodeiro and his Sounders teammate Alvaro Fernandez are two of six Uruguayans currently in MLS.
