TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Report
Could Cyle Larin be set to return to MLS?
According to a report by Turkish outlet Sabah, the Seattle Sounders have reached out to Besiktas to inquire about the status of the Canadian national team forward. The report indicated that Besiktas have opted to hold on to him for now and pushed further discussions with the Sounders to the January 2021 transfer window.
Larin, 25, began his professional career in MLS with Orlando City SC and enjoyed a hugely productive three seasons in the league with 43 goals over 87 appearances. That form sparked a move to Turkish giants Besiktas, where he initially struggled to make an impact. He played little more than 1,000 minutes across all competitions in his first 18 months, then was sent on loan to SV Zulte Waregem in Belgium.
With the Belgian side in 2019-2020, Larin was a revelation. He had nine goals and 11 assists in 31 appearances across all competitions, then returned to Turkey this summer. He has since appeared in all four of Besiktas's league matches of the 2020-2021 season, including two starts.
Any deal would be complicated for more than a few reasons. First, the Sounders don't currently have the open Designated Player slot that it would require to acquire a player of Larin's stature assuming a transfer fee is involved. Their current DPs are Raul Ruidiaz, Nico Lodeiro and Joao Paulo.
Seattle also would need to climb the Allocation Order to acquire Larin, given the player is on the Allocation player list (his transfer out of MLS was for a fee greater than $500,000). Seattle are currently No. 23 on the list and would have to trade up as part of any deal to sign Larin ahead of the October 29 deadline day for the Secondary Transfer Window.
If they were to pursue a deal in the winter instead, after the Allocation Order resets based on reverse order of 2020 league standings, the Sounders would still be somewhere near the bottom and have to trade up. The No. 1 spot in the Allocation Ranking has typically traded for around $350,000 or more in General Allocation Money.
File this report away until January.
