TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Reports
FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids are set to complete a head-turning trade to swap two of their most talented players, according to reports from the Dallas Morning News and The Athletic.
The DMN’s Jon Arnold and The Athletic’s Denver-based correspondent Ryan Clark reported on Sunday night that the two Western Conference sides are finalizing a deal that would sent FCD Homegrown hero Kellyn Acosta to Colorado in exchange for Rapids striker Dominique Badji, Colorado's first-round pick in next year's MLS SuperDraft, an international roster slot for 2018 and 2019 as well as a cut of any future transfer fee should the Rapids sell Acosta to a club outside MLS in the future.
If the transaction reaches completion, it would mark an unexpected career twist for both players.
Acosta is one of the crown jewels of Dallas’ academy-driven youth movement, a rising U.S. national team standout with 17 caps and one goal for the USMNT (his most recent appearance came vs. Portugal in November) who was garnering transfer interest from clubs in Europe before injury troubles sidetracked him over the past year. More recently, he’s fallen down the FCD depth chart amid fierce competition for minutes in central midfield for the Western Conference leaders.
“When you make a decision to trade a player like Kellyn, this wasn't just a rash decision from me or anyone else to go along with it. We had many meetings,” FCD technical director Fernando Clavijo told Arnold. “Kellyn was not at the level where we wanted him to be.
“We addressed that with him many times, and he felt that being with FC Dallas for 11 years that he needed a change, a change of scenario, having different things, different coaches, different fields, different stadiums. It had become a little bit harder for him to motivate himself … It was a very, very difficult decision for us to make going forward, but our goal is to win the Supporters' Shield and win something that's been escaping us for a long time in the MLS championship.”
Badji, Colorado’s leading scorer last season (nine goals and six assists) and during the current campaign (7g, 2a), signed a two-year contract extension with the Rapids last fall. The 2015 SuperDraft selection has spoken of his dreams to move into the Senegalese national team picture and is in the process of gaining his U.S. greencard.
Late Sunday night Rapids director of communication Ryan Madden tweeted out an announcement of a press conference after the team's Monday training session at Dick's Sporting Goods Park:
