Nashville building for future with signing of Daniel Rios

Despite the fact that Nashville still have a whole season remaining before they join Major League Soccer, the expansion club is wasting no time getting to work for life in the top flight. Daniel Rios is now in town.

There is still plenty of work to be done for Major League Soccer’s newest expansion club in Nashville.

The club from Tennessee still have all of 2019 to begin preparations for setting up a successful roster to begin play at the very top of the United States soccer pyramid.

However, just before 2019, Nashville have started early by signing striker Daniel Rios from Chivas Guadalajara in Liga MX.

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The signing is Nashville’s first official acquisition as an MLS club and the choice seems quite clear when one has a look at the stats Rios has been able to produce in USL with North Carolina FC.  With 20 goals in the 2018 season, the 23-year-old finished second in the league’s Golden Boot race.

Rios has spent essentially his entire career away from Chivas. He played three seasons for Zacatepec and Coras del Deportivo Tepic FC in the Mexican second division where he scored 13 goals across 30 appearances. His time there ran from the 2015-16 season to the 2017-18 campaign.

When the opportunity came to make the move to North Carolina, Rios took full advantage. He showed why he had been selected for the Mexican youth national teams by scoring 20 goals in 31 appearances in the USL.

Rios certainly showed he possesses the finishing ability needed to make it in MLS during his 2018 season with North Carolina. He was clinical inside of the box and made life hectic for defenders throughout the campaign.

Nashville have a great signing here for a young player that still has room to grow and improve at only 23. With another season ahead at Nashville SC in the USL Championship, Rios can further develop his playing style ahead of his first season in MLS.

Picking up Rios now also allows Nashville to acquire a proven goal scorer which frees up a little bit of pressure when the search for the rest of the roster continues. After his 2018 season, it is probably worth noting that an MLS club was bound to come to North Carolina with interest of signing the striker.

This is hopefully the first of many great signings by the club as they prepare to commence in MLS play in 2020.