Portland Timbers: 3 takeaways from preseason trip to Costa Rica
2. Christian Paredes returns
The Portland Timbers’ offseason additions were very exciting. A striker from Europe, a midfielder from Brazil’s top-flight and a couple of others that will add to the roster. They also resigned a lot of players from their 2019 roster, building what is expected to be one of the premier rosters in MLS. And last week, the Timbers added to that good work.
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On February 6th, Portland completed the permanent transfer of Paraguayan midfielder Cristhian Paredes from Liga MX side Club America. The 21-year-old midfielder was acquired using allocation money after spending the past two seasons on loan. During his time in Portland, Pareded has played in 48 games,, netting five goals and assisting five others. Giovanni Savarese is very high on Paredes, who had this about to say about the young midfielder
"“Cristhian has been an important component of our roster and we made it a priority to have him back on the team. He’s a two-way player who covers a lot of ground. He is a player with a very high ceiling in this league.”"
Parades’ signing was a play with the Timbers’ future in mind. Portland retain a young talent who has six caps for Paraguay and was called up to the U-23 Men’s National Team for the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. He was also a 2019 22 under 22 selection. There have been plenty of major moves from the Timbers this offseason, but do not overlook the return of Paredes.