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It’s been a bit of a slow offseason for the Houston Dynamo so far, but as we enter 2020 the front office will be looking to solidify the roster. Believe it or not, the Dynamo start their preseason just 2 weeks from today. Let’s take a look at some of the latest rumored signings and where they stand.
Houston is still searching for a goalkeeper with Michael Nelson currently the only one on the roster. A couple of names have been bounced around and here is what we know at this point:
- The Athletic’s Sam Stejskal and Paul Tenorio reported yesterday that LigaMX keeper William Yarbrough was still a target for the Dynamo, after originally being linked with a move to MLS in December. The 30 year old American was a starter at Leon but recently has become a backup. The hold up on Yarbrough joining MLS? According to the Athletic, the Dynamo would need to acquire his discovery rights from another MLS team, likely sending some kind of package of allocation money and/or draft picks. His salary could also be an issue as the Athletic cites that Yarbrough did not join the San Jose Earthquakes in 2018 because the team failed to meet his wage demands.
- Lester Gretsch of Univision Houston has refuted the Athletic’s report, claiming a deal with Croation Marko Maric is done and he will be the Dynamo starting goalkeeper in 2020. Gretsch also reports that the discovery rights and salary were a factor in the Dynamo dropping their interest.
Marko Marić is @HoustonDynamo’s starting GK for 2020. Yarbrough is no longer a target.
— Lester Grötsch (@LesterDeportes) January 3, 2020
Acc. to my sources, Yarbrough would have come on loan at over $750K. His option was $2.5M. His lack of PT (he’s not dressing of late), and another team owning his disc. rights didn’t help.
If Lester’s report is true, and no one is better with Dynamo news than Lester, it would mean Maric will begin the 2020 season as the starter with Nelson most likely backing him up. The Dynamo could still look to bring in a veteran to back up Maric, who turned 24 yesterday, and send Nelson to RGVFC for more seasoning, but that remains to be seen.
The other name linked to the Dynamo in the past week is 20 year old Uruguayan winger Brian Ocampo. Ocampo currently plays for Nacional in Uruguay’s Primera Division but is reportedly on the move. According to AS in Chile, the Dynamo are not alone in their pursuit of Ocampo with Chilean club Universidad also interested in the youngster. The report of a $500,000 price tag on Ocampo shouldn’t scare off the Dynamo, especially if he is being brought in as a replacement for Alberth Elis on the wing.
Which of these players would you be most excited to see in Houston? Let us know in the comments.