Andre Hainault on trial with Ross County and more offseason rumblings

After a quiet start to the offseason, the rumor mill seems to be spinning in Houston.

Over the last few days, reports from the Honduran press said the Dynamo were in discussions with Olimpia for the services of 20 year old midfielder, Alexander Lopez. Lopez acknowledged there has been an offer made by Houston for his services, but added his future is in Olimpia's hands.

Even Boniek Garica was quoted in the same publication saying Dominic Kinnear showed interest in bringing Lopez to Houston.

Then on Tuesday, MLSsoccer.com's Darrell Lovell reported that Houston has not made an offer for Lopez. Furthermore, the Houston Chronicle's Jesus Ortiz said the same this afternoon during a nice chat with one of Dynamo Theory's writers. The chat might be worth reading as much as any Dynamo rumor.

For what it's worth, Lopez has disappeared from the roster on Olimpia's official website.

Social media and fan forums are buzzing about the potential addition of such a young attacking talent to compliment Will Bruin and Omar Cummings. Not to mention a player with an interesting nickname, the Honduran Maradona.

Lopez isn't the only foreign player the Dynamo have been linked to. Panamanian Nicolas Muñoz has also reportedly been a target of MLS clubs, including Houston.

Nicknamed "Yuyu," Muñoz plies his trade in El Salvador and was recently named Footballer of the Year after winning the title with Isidro Metapan. That's the second time he won El Salvador's Footballer of the Year award (also in 2004). Muñoz is a 30 year old forward who could bring some additional attacking options to Houston.

With the addition of Cummings, this rumor could just be that. Cummings himself admitted the trade was a surprise, so it's likely it could have caught the Dynamo off guard too. If they were looking at Muñoz then, they're most likely not now.

Additionally, out of contract defender Andre Hainault has shown up in Scotland on a trail with Ross County. At this point, Hainault has expressed his desire to look at all his options. If he performs well, he could fit in perfectly at Ross County - the story says Hainault "ticks all of the boxes" of the type of player they need.

Despite the news last month that Giles Barnes will be back with the club in 2013, that didn't stop rumors popping up about him showing up at Nottingham Forest's training ground recently (see photo in link). Forest's fans flocked to social media to discuss the potential of a deal, but most were met with quick replies about his return to Houston for the upcoming season. Don't worry fans; he's just keeping up his form.

Over the coming weeks, the only thing we know is there will be more rumors and plenty of things to discuss. Stay tuned.