Reports: Real Salt Lake close to acquiring Slovak playmaker Albert Rusnak

Albert Rusnak - on loan at Birmingham City, 2014

Real Salt Lake appear to be on the verge of acquiring a new No. 10.


The club have agreed to a transfer deal with FC Groningen for Slovakian attacking midfielder Albert Rusnak, according to a statement published on the Dutch club’s website on Tuesday.


The statement said that RSL still need to agree to a contract with the 22-year-old Rusnak before the transfer becomes official.


“We have with Real Salt Lake reached an agreement on the transfer of Rusnak to the American MLS,” FC Groningen general director Hans Nijland said in a statement on the club’s website. “Whether it actually comes to a transfer is now on the player and his management. We will wait and see how this will develop in the coming days.”


A former member of the Manchester City academy, Rusnak has been with Groningen since January 2015, when he joined the club after a half season with fellow Eredivisie side Cambuur. He has 12 goals and nine assists in 76 career appearances in the Dutch top flight. His best season was in the 2014-15 campaign, when he recorded seven goals and eight assists in 33 appearances with Cambuur and Groningen.


An experienced Slovak youth international, Rusnak made his debut appearance with his country’s senior national team in a friendly against Austria in November.


RSL, who parted ways with longtime creative midfielder Javier Morales earlier this offseason, told The Salt Lake Tribune that the club "chooses to withhold comment until personal terms are agreed upon with a player."