If almost any other team in the league had made this trade, I would question it.
LAFC already have two very good strikers in Adama Diomande and Marco Urena. The team leads the Western Conference in goals scored this season. We already had questions about how they would find minutes for two starting-caliber strikers before they added Christian Ramirez on Monday in a trade with Minnesota United FC. Ramirez is a good player but not a definitive upgrade over Diomande (9 goals in 13 games!) or Costa Rican international Urena. LAFC now have three capable players for a single spot.
But head coach Bob Bradley and EVP of soccer operations & GM John Thorrington have done pretty much everything right so far this year. They took a team with zero players and made them into a serious trophy contender inside of 12 months. Almost every move they’ve made has been smart.
And there are multiple reasons why the Ramirez trade makes sense too:
He’s a local player. Ramirez grew up in the Los Angeles area. LAFC, as a club, have made it a priority to connect with the city of Los Angeles in every way possible.
When I originally heard the news, I had to do a double take. I expected Ramirez to be traded and I had made a mental list of potential suitors, but LAFC weren’t among them. LAFC appeared to be the last team to need a striker.
Yet the LAFC brass have done enough good things that I trust their judgement. Either there are more moves (or injury announcements, perhaps, given Diomande limped off in the last game) to come, or Bradley will find a way to make it work.
I don’t totally get the Ramirez acquisition right now, but I trust that Bradley, Thorrington, and company do. And that's what matters.
