MLS: Skilled transfers looking to develop and delight

Many MLS clubs are looking for players to develop their teams and delight their fans, no less than LAFC and Miami. Here are four players who have been linked with a move Stateside.

Miami and Los Angeles FC are looking to add talent to their squads, making them potential contenders in the coming years, setting MLS standards even higher.

Miami doesn’t yet have a pitch on which its players may compete. They begin playing until 2020. Yet, the team asserts they have a solid path toward their first star, this one from World Cup runners-up, Croatia.

Los Angeles FC, meanwhile, have their eye on a Brazilian star. That team’s scouts and head coach Bob Bradley had Twitter on fire during the offseason with their tour of players throughout Central and South America.

Numerous MLS teams stay active in serious competition with European soccer teams for players in Peru and even Spain. The MLS is getting serious.

Miami not waiting to assemble roster

David Beckham’s partner in Miami, Jorge Mas, confirmed the team had a Croatian star considering signing onto their team. Without naming him, he hinted they had a high-profile player interested.

The Croation player best fitting that description would be Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.  This player excels at the midfielder’s greatest skills: dribbling, passing, through balls, key passes, long shots and vision make him invaluable to Real Madrid. And that’s not even a complete list.

For Miami to land Modric, even conditionally, would buy the team a lot of patience while they settle their stadium and mascot questions. The team’s true image begins with the first player. What an image, then, to be shaped by a player of Modric’s calibre and quality.

Similarly, Bob Bradley’s Los Angeles FC already has an offer delivered to Brazilian defender Danilo Silva. He now plays for Internacional but was held out of games as negotiations continued with LAFC.

Silva, often listed as Danilo, played for the Bradley-coached MetroStars in 2005, so there’s a definite plan where he would fit into Los Angeles FC’s 4-3-3 formation, either at right back or center-back. Look for that to happen in the coming days and weeks.

Player-directed searches

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If teams don’t directly search out a player, nothing prevents that talent from reversing the process.

Peruvian midfielder Will Edison Flores and Spanish defender Andreu Fontàs put the word out that they’re ready for a move, possibly to MLS. And without specifying destinations, their respective media insist the transfers are close to done.

Flores plies his trade with Danish SuperLiga’s Aalborg, and has two years left on his contract. He acknowledged going over several offers.

Media reports mention offers ranging from Spain to Saudi Arabia, plus more than one MLS team.  The attacking midfielder also appeared at the FIFA World Cup. If he and his agent decide MLS offers the longest career, that could be where he lands next.

Fontàs has already narrowed down his offers. The center-back stayed out of Celta Vigo’s first preseason match while working over MLS bids. Local media confirms his intention to transfer to the United States, but there’s no confirmation of which MLS clubs contend for him.

Scouts credit his passing and tackling as very advanced. He’s able to fit in a variety of formations and can fill in as a defensive midfielder when needed. At age 24, he’s a nice find for any MLS team with room to grow.

All these players would help their teams develop. Now all the MLS clubs have to do is close the deals.