With just a handful of shopping days left for MLS sides to procure impact players from other pro clubs before the primary transfer window closes at 11:59 pm ET on May 1, let's take a stroll down memory lane to weigh up five of the best best moves ever made during the window's final week.
No. 5: Blerim Dzemaili (Montreal Impact, 2017)
The only thing keeping him from appearing higher on this list is an all-too-brief MLS stay. Dzemaili was exactly the productive midfield conduit the Impact attack needed for all of 22 games. The Swiss ace made the most of his time in the league by notching seven goals (many of them spectacular) and 10 assists. He wanted to stay in Montreal longer, but unfortunately, family matters compelled a move back to Bologna.
No. 4: Michael de Leeuw (Chicago Fire, 2016)
The Dutch attacker's counting stats (10 goals, 11 helpers in 48 MLS games) are decent, but they don't tell his Fire story. Ask anyone around the club: Chicago's offense simply runs smoother with de Leeuw on the field. He's on schedule to return from ACL surgery on his left knee this summer. And by the way, the Dutch pronunciation of his last name is "duh lay-yoo."
No. 3: Jeff Parke (Seattle Sounders, 2010)
It took the Sounders two tries to snare the center back. They tabbed him in the 2008 Expansion Draft, but he eventually signed with then-USL side Vancouver instead. After one season with the Whitecaps, Parke made the short jump to Seattle. He would go on to win back-to-back club Defender of the Year honors and go the distance in consecutive US Open Cup final triumphs during his three years in the Emerald City.
No. 2: Jefferson Savarino (Real Salt Lake, 2017)
This pick is this high largely based on potential. The 21-year-old Venezuelam winger, who's as shifty as they come around the box, is well on his way to a fine MLS career. After chalking up six goals and five assists during his 22-appearance debut season in MLS, the club wasted little time in taking up their purchase option when Savarino's initial loan expired.
No. 1: Fanendo Adi (Portland Timbers, 2014)
The only man on this list to win an MLS Cup to date, Adi came on a loan-plus-buy option deal from FC Copenhagen. And he never went back. The Timbers striker has hit for double figures across all competitions in each of his first four campaigns with the club. He's up to 59 total tallies for Portland, bagging one every 165 minutes of competitive action.
And now, one bonus mention for a great that landed in MLS just a few weeks before the deadline...
Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Columbus Crew SC, 2007)
Before the playmaker arrived as a late-window addition from Boca Juniors, Crew SC had finished bottom of the East in consecutive seasons. In his second season, Schelotto pulled off a regular-season/MLS Cup MVP double after setting up all three goals in their championship match win. In four years, he notched 35 goals and set up 48 others in 109 total league contests with Columbus.
