FRISCO, Texas – Late Sunday evening, vice president of Hunt Sports Group Dan Hunt got FC Dallas fans buzzing when he tweeted that a “Signature has been secured.”
On Monday after practice, FC Dallas technical director Fernando Clavijo confirmed that an international signing was imminent.
He wasn’t ready to reveal the name of the player, however, as the club still hasn’t completed the immigration process, but Clavijo says they are close and that he expects to have everything finalized in the next seven to 10 days. He also anticipates the new player will be available to play very soon after the deal is done.
“I think that somebody of his stature and the way he plays, he’s going to be ... right away [able to play],” Clavijo told reporters. “I think he’s going to make a difference as soon as coach feels he’s ready to go.”
READ: In winless rut, Hyndman suggests he'll give others players a chance
The new signing – who Clavijo previously described as an attacking player – combined with recently signed defensive midfielder Erick will give Schellas Hyndman new options to help shake his formerly league-leading squad out of its seven-match winless slump.
“Right now I think we have some issues as a team that we need to sort out and the easiest thing to identify is not scoring goals,” Hyndman told reporters after Monday morning’s practice. “What always kills a team is when you create scoring chances and you don’t score. You keep the other team alive, you keep the other team [full of] belief.”
With Erick (pictured at top) nursing a slight hamstring strain and the immigration paperwork for the new signing probably not being completed until the end of the week, it is doubtful either player will make his debut next weekend in Montreal.
Clavijo and Hyndman agreed that the July 27 friendly against Stoke City would be the ideal time to have both players – Erick and the as-yet-unsigned attacker – on the field for the first time.
But don’t think that means that Hyndman plans to stand pat when facing the Impact.
“I think we already have in mind some changes,” said Hyndman. “Who was it, Albert Einstein who said about insanity is [that it’s] doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?”
