TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS:Report
Several reports have Peruvian World Cup roster member and two-time Liga MX scoring leader Raul Ruidiaz close to an MLS move, with one tabbing the Seattle Sounders as a potential destination.
ESPN Deportes reported on Wednesday evening in an interview with Monarcas Morelia president Alvaro Davila that the 27-year-old marksman was very close to a move, and Sounder at Heart's Niko Moreno later reported Ruidiaz's agent has confirmed interest from Seattle.
It's no secret the offensively challenged Sounders have been searching for an attacking solution since Jordan Morris tore his ACL in the Concacaf Champions League before the regular season began. Club GM Garth Lagerwey last month promised a big-name offensive acquisition in the Secondary Transfer Window to help turn around the league's worst offense, which has scored only seven goals and been shut out in eight of 11 matches.
Ruidiaz would obviously fit that need, having scored 34 goals in the last two calendar years in Liga MX. He won back-to-back scoring titles when he posted nine goals in the 2016 Apertura and followed that with 11 in the 2017 Clausura. He also scored nine goals in this past Liga MX Clausura, good for a four-way tie for fourth in the scoring chase.
As Peru Waltz notes, he would not come cheap, and he would also command an international roster spot that Seattle would have to free up or acquire.
The Sounders would also likely have to either buy down Ruidiaz's salary budget charge with allocation money, or sign him as Designated Player and use that allocation money to buy down the charge of one of their current three DPs, most likely Osvaldo Alonso.
