FRISCO, Texas -- The search for attacking help could be nearing a conclusion for FC Dallas, though nothing definite has materialized yet.
Club technical director Fernando Clavijo on Monday denied rumors that a deal has been completed to acquire 22-year-old Colombian winger Santiago Mosquera from Millionarios for a reported fee of around $3.7 million, but conceded there is interest.
“We’ve been linked to a lot of teams lately,” Fernando Clavijo said. “Some of them have some merit, some of them don’t. He’s one of the players of interest. We haven’t reached anything with the player. Is it someone that we’ve scouted? Of course. Hopefully, we can come to some kind of terms. We’re just working on it. We have been back and forth talking. That’s it.”
Clavijo has expressed a desire to improve the left wide midfielder position, an objective signing Mosquera would achieve. But on Monday he also said he was very happy with the picks in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft, including 21-year-old Francis Atuahene, the fourth overall pick.
Last season, Dallas thought they found an attacking solution in Designated Player signing Cristian Colman. The young Paraguayan scored in his first competitive match for Dallas in the CONCACAF Champions League, but struggled in the league, scoring his only goals with a brace against Montreal on July 22.
“We will try in the preseason to get his confidence [up], obviously,” coach Oscar Pareja said of Colman. “He’s working hard and we are also. With him, it’s a matter of timing and letting him find the net and seeing him becoming the contributor he can be. That’s the expectation that we have.”
Early in 2017, Maxi Urruti looked like a Golden Boot candidate, sitting at 11 goals after Dallas' 4-2 defeat of D.C United on the Fourth of July. But the Argentine veteran scored only once more the remainder of the season.
There has been discussions regarding Urruti's future with the club, but Clavijo says he'll remain in Frisco for the near future.
“We are extremely close to signing him to a two-year-deal,” Clavijo said. “He has a contract in 2018, so it’s not an issue for this season. Now we’re trying to extend his contract two more years. We have already agreed to terms. We haven’t put it in paper yet because of a couple of details here and there but as much as I know we’re extremely happy at FC Dallas that we are going in that direction, and we hope that we can keep Maxi for many more years to come.”
