The San Jose Earthquakes have traded Quincy Amarikwa to the Montreal Impact for Dominic Oduro. Here’s what Oduro’s arrival means for San Jose.
It was announced on Wednesday. The San Jose Earthquakes will be acquiring veteran MLS forward Dominic Oduro in a trade that sends Quincy Amarikwa to the Montreal Impact.
It’s an exchange of similar commodities.
The Quakes don’t gain a whole lot in terms of a new dynamic in attack. Oduro will play a similar role for the Quakes that Amarikwa did — they’re both fast-paced forwards that can play out wide and score goals. That said, the addition of Oduro is not one that should be downplayed either.
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Whether or not this was a trade that the Quakes needed is hard to say, but the addition of Oduro to their roster will turn some heads around the league. At 32, it remains to be seen whether Oduro still has more than a couple of productive seasons in him. Bu the Ghanaian has proven to be a goal-scoring force in the league in the past, most notably in the 2011 season in Chicago when he bagged 12 goals and in the 2013 season with the Crew, in which he netted 13 goals.
What Oduro will bring to San Jose is more versatility, his addition will be one that brings more dynamic elements to an already dynamic attack in Silicon Valley. Cynics will say that the Quakes didn’t need to add Oduro to a roster that includes Wondolowski, Erikson, and Danny Hoesen (not to mention Hyka and Vako), but, if the Quakes can get some fluidity and attacking chemistry with a group that now includes Oduro, the offense will be a formidable one, to say the least.
The problem, and perhaps the reason why many have doubted the value in this trade, is that the Quakes’ demons have not been in attack this year, they’ve been in defense; so while the addition of Oduro is a welcomed one, it won’t mean much if the Quakes backline can’t solve its problems at the other end.
However, Quakes fans should be licking their lips at the prospect of a front four made up of Wondo, Hoeson, Erikson and Oduro. That is an attack that will give any manager some wrinkles around the eyes when the time comes to planning a defensive strategy for a match in San Jose.