The rumors actually started after Heinze left. The first reports started over the weekend with Cesar Luis Merlo and then multiple other sources started saying the same thing. Then the day after that Barco posted a picture of the two together at the Olympics. But since none of the typical people stateside have I'd say it is a longer shot than any of the other rumors I've seen. There is a rumor that this was someone Heinze wanted so it could be that a reporter got the scoop after the interest had ended.
BREAKING: The Colorado Rapids have acquired Mark-Anthony Kaye from LAFC in a blockbuster trade, sources tell MLSsoccer. LAFC will receive $1m in GAM, a 2022 int’l slot plus incentives. Colorado also get LAFC’s 2022 first-round SuperDraft pick.https://t.co/mROAhJD33P— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) July 27, 2021
Just surprised he is perceived as being that valuable. Feels like he’s been on continuous decline for two years and most LAFC fans I know would have given Him away much cheaper.
I think Zlatan inadvertently broke blessing but I'm pretty sure Perry Kitchen literally and intentionally broke Kaye - at least once.
More from the Athletic here, the Rapids apparently made an offer for Kaye in the offseason https://theathletic.com/2734192/2021/07/27/lafc-rapids-mark-anthony-kaye-trade/
It is a good move all around. Colorado gets deeper and has an immediate piece to plug in if one or two of their midfielders depart in the next window or two. LAFC was already pretty deep at the midfield spot and needed some allocation money to acquire an actual center forward (Cristian Arango, who is at Millionarios right now).
If I remember correctly, that was about the amount of GarberBucks LAFC spent to get Christian Ramirez in 2018. Maybe they figure that's the market...Colorado didn't seem to balk at it.
I get that Kaye can be very inconsistent at times, but I think hes also underrated somewhat. The technical skill is there. It's his mental game that wanders off sometimes. that's probably why he got booted from TFC and needed a wake call stint at USL. Hes certainly been very good for Canada, and has a strong case to start for fall WCQs in a strong Canadian midfield pool
Also look at the recent track record of the Rapids taking on "distressed assets" that were seen to have flaws like Kaye. Acosta, Rosenberry, Trusty, Abubakar, Barrios. Its hard to argue that the Rapids overpaid for any of them given their current performance. This is the biggest of such moves but they've built up a good enough track record on these type of players that I'm willing to trust them on this one.
I wasn't sure if anything else happened so I looked it up again and realized there is a MLSSoccer.com article. Sources: Portland Timbers sign forward Santiago Moreno to U-22 Initiative deal | MLSSoccer.com MLS Soccer dotcom will always be a strange place to me. Evidently my post was two days before The Athletic had an article. It's all weird because I'd read and seen reports from Cali that had confirmed it and was confused since it was not in US media. I had assumed I just wasn't looking for the right local information although I could find so many sources in Colombia.
It is probably done but not announced on Portland's end yet. Bogert and several other stateside sources have said it is done and Cali hasn't played him in the past few weeks. It is similar to the Red Bulls signing of Steven Sserwadda. His Ugandan club has already posted that they have sold him and the player retweeted that with a tweet thanking everyone for his years there. But there hasn't been a peep on this side of the Atlantic since that announcement a few days ago.
21 year old Brazilian left-back Lucas Esteves is close to joining #Rapids96, per source. The club has confirmed interest in Esteves while one source tells me it’s a done deal. Reporting with @reportingmls— Inside Rapids (@insiderapids) July 29, 2021
We're still not sure he knows he owns Arsenal. Or, at the least, that it's anything more than an asset to use as leverage for his real estate projects.