Portland Timbers: Is Jeremy Ebobisse that limiting?

The Portland Timbers are reportedly looking to spend big on a new striker. But is Jeremy Ebobisse really that limiting to require significant investment?

The Portland Timbers made the MLS Cup final. They may have fallen at the final hurdle, losing 2-0 to Atlanta United in that final, but this was still a very successful season.

The team went through several iterations of itself as Gio Savarese tinkered with his line-up and approach, keen to find the one the best served him and his players.

In the end, there was one unanimous philosophy that fitted the style of play of the Timbers down to the ground: the counter-attack.

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Portland were arguably the best counter-attacking team in MLS, built on a workmanlike midfield that should shield the defence without much possession and a deadly attacking trio that could rip apart any defence when given time and space on the ball. The spearhead of the attack was Jeremy Ebobisse, a powerful, quick, athletic centre-forward who occupies defenders by simply making himself a nuisance.

His goal record might not quite be up to snuff, — he scored just three goals in 23 MLS appearances last season — but he is only 21, still learning his trade, and plays the centre-forward role very differently to a Josef Martinez or Bradley Wright-Phillips. His game is far more about intelligently holding up play than just smashing the ball in the back of the net.

Nevertheless, according to reports, the Timbers still want to spend big at the striker position. This is a nice summary from Sam Stejskal:

"“It’s no secret that the Timbers are looking to sign a Designated Player at striker this winter. Recent reports from The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio and ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle linked the club to Argentine Ezequiel Ponce, currently on loan from Roma to AEK Athens, and to Tigres’ Julian Quiñones. Either player would be a huge investment, with the transfer fee for either likely ending up significantly north of $5 million. The Timbers aren’t spending that kind of money on a player only for him to sit on the bench. If they make a buy this winter (no sure thing… I’m told they could wait for the summer to make a big purchase), that player will have the clear upper hand to start over Ebobisse.”"

It leads me to ask: Just how limiting is Ebobisse if Portland deem the striker position the one above all that requires substantial investment? We are not talking about a depth signing here, as Stejskal highlights. Whoever is signed is a major transfer, which tells me that Portland are not happy with Ebobisse, for whatever reason.

I can understand trying to bring in competition. I can even understand, to an extent, the desire to splash the cash on a new goalscorer — you can never have too many goalscorers in football. But Ebobisse is hardly a bad player and Portland do have other areas of need.

A striker is required this offseason. Absolutely. But does it have to be the blow-everyone-out-the-water-type DP signing? Ebobisse is useful. He proved it last year. And he fits the Savarese style down to the ground. Sometimes, there is nothing wrong with rolling with you have. The Portland Timbers may just find that out this year.