TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Loan
The New England Revolution shipped out forward Kei Kamara earlier this offseason and it appears they may have gotten a replacement on Tuesday morning.
The Revs acquired forward Cristian Penilla on loan from Pachuca for the 2018 season, with a transfer option for the 2019 season, to add to their striking options along with Juan Agudelo, who is currently in camp with the US national team. Penilla will either be a Designated Player in 2018, or Targeted Allocation Money will have to be used to buy down his budget charge depending on how the rest of the offseason shakes out according to a New England spokesman.
“We believe Cristian is a player with the ability to immediately compete for a significant role in New England,” Revolution general manager Michael Burns said in a club release. “His wealth of experience at a highly competitive level makes us feel Cristian will be a great asset to the club’s attack as we begin the 2018 season.”
Penilla, 26, has made more than 200 appearances and logged over 10,000 minutes played across all competitions in his eight-year professional career, which has spanned the top divisions of Mexico, Brazil, and Ecuador. He most recently played for Chapecoense of Brazil's top-flight Serie A on loan. Prior to joining Chapecoense, Penilla spent three seasons in Mexico's top-flight Liga MX with Monarcas Morelia and Pachuca, as well as a partial season on loan with Barcelona Sporting Club of Ecuador's first-tier Serie A.
The Ecuador native made his international debut on Oct. 11, 2014, when he started and played 45 minutes in an international friendly against the United States at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in Hartford, Conn. Three days later, Penilla registered his first international goal in a friendly against El Salvador at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J.
