TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Transfer
After months of reports and rumors, the Portland Timbers got their Designated Player attacker. The Timbers have acquired forward Brian Fernandez from Liga MX side Necaxa, the club announced Monday. Media reports the fee to be between $10-12 million, which would easily be a club record.
Fernandez, 24, has featured at right wing for the club, where he has 18 goals and five assists in 32 appearances since joining in 2018. He's previously spent time in Argentina (Racing Club), Chile (Union La Calera) and France (FC Metz). The Argentinian has featured at all positions across the front line, though mostly at striker before his time in Mexico.
In order to accommodate Fernandez as a Designated Player on the Timbers’ roster, Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) was used to lower the budget charge of Lucas Melano, freeing a Designated Player slot.
“We are delighted to sign a player of Brian Fernandez’ caliber, at a stage in his career where we feel he is already a proven player yet still has his best years in front of him and room to grow as a player,” said Gavin Wilkinson, general manager and president of soccer for the Timbers. “Brian has demonstrated the ability to overcome adversity during his career and his commitment to the game, his family and his belief in his ability has helped him develop into an exciting, highly skilled attacking threat with very good clubs in multiple leagues. He is a quality player and will add a different look to our team, and we are thrilled to welcome him to Portland.”
The Timbers have been linked with a handful of attacking players over the past few months. Fernandez's flexibility gives the club the option to play him through the center or on the right wing of their 4-2-3-1, alongside Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco and Jeremy Ebobisse.
“We are very pleased to welcome Brian Fernández to our team,” head coach Giovanni Savarese said. “Brian is a player who possesses many different attacking qualities that can cause issues for the opposition. He has shown the ability to unlock defenses and score goals in a variety of ways throughout his career, and, while we view him as a forward with our immediate group, his versatility and ability to play in different positions and systems gives us further tactical flexibility and options.”
Fernandez has been added to MLS Fantasy as a $10 million forward. Pick him up now!
