Houston Dynamo acquire Venezuelan forward

On Thursday, the Houston Dynamo announced they have acquired Venezuelan forward Ronald Peña on a full transfer from Caracas F.C. pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa. The transfer will become official when the MLS summer window opens on July 10. The team used Targeted Allocation Money to complete the transfer.

The forward is capable of play playing center forward, as a secondary striker or on the wing. Peña spent 2017-2018 on loan to Moreirense F.C. in Portugal’s Primeira Liga from Caracas. He scored three goals and two assists this season with Moreirense in 25 appearances.

“Ronaldo is a young and talented forward who is very hungry. At his young age, he already has experience playing at the international level,” said Dynamo Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera in the team release announcing the signing. “It is important for us to create competition amongst our forwards, and he has a different type of talent than Romell (Quioto), Alberth (Elis), Mauro (Manotas), Arturo (Alvarez), or Memo (Rodriguez). Ronaldo is going to compete and help us to be more dangerous and to score more goals in order for us to be in playoff contention.”

Peña was part of the Venezuelan Under-20 national team that went to the final of the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup last summer in South Korea. The forward played in all seven matches for La Vinotinto and scored their first goal of the tournament in a 2-0 win over Germany. He started in all nine matches in the 2017 South American U-20 Championship and captained the team against Bolivia and Uruguay.