COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – In the wake of recent reports of transfer interest and a pair of trades this week, the Colorado Rapids appear resigned to losing star striker Omar Cummings in the near future.
The Jamaican international is in great form, tied for the team lead with Conor Casey with nine goals this season, including four in the club’s last three games. His latest strike, a blistering 35-yard blast during Colorado’s 3-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls last weekend, is a likely Goal of the Year candidate.
The 28-year-old also recently starred with the Jamaican National Team, scoring the lone goal for the Reggae Boyz in a 2-1 loss to Peru on Sept. 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Cummings' success and development has, unsurprisingly, generated interest from foreign suitors. The Rapids confirmed last month that they turned down an offer from Mexican club Necaxa, and Rapids technical director Paul Bravo said last month that European clubs had consistently shown significant interest in the 28-year-old striker, whose contract with Colorado runs out after the 2012 season.
That interest has led the Rapids to make some moves in preparation for his expected departure, beginning with the acquisition of Macoumba Kandji from the Red Bulls on Tuesday in a swap for Mehdi Ballouchy.
Asked this week on MLSsoccer.com's ExtraTime Radio if the Kandji deal was made with Cummings' possible departure in mind, Rapids head coach Gary Smith said: “Absolutely, that was one of my overriding thoughts as well."
Smith described Kandji as a “similar type” of player to Cummings. Both may play upfront for Colorado along with Casey as the team enters the final stage of the regular season, and the 25-year-old Senegalese striker certainly figures to feature prominently for the Rapids beyond 2010.
The Rapids also moved on Wednesday to acquire three-time MLS Cup winner Brian Mullan from Houston, giving Colorado a veteran who will shore up the midfield. This could mean that Kandji – who played in the midfield and up top this season for New York – can now focus solely on an attacking role for Colorado, who have gotten 18 of their 29 goals this season from the Cummings-Casey duo.
Smith had been looking at another forward in French striker Yoann Arquin. Arquin, formerly with Paris Saint-Germain, trialed with the Rapids last month and the team remains keen to sign him eventually, even though the transfer window is now closed.
Arquin would join an already crowded striker stable of Kandji, Casey and Cummings, not to mention understudies Quincy Amarikwa, Andre Akpan and Ross Schunk. There have clearly been difficulties cementing the Arquin deal, but the willingness of Smith to secure his services is a telling sign, and it seems unlikely Colorado would keep so many forwards if Arquin is signed.
Cummings, for his part, has made no secret of the fact that he would like to play outside of the US at some point. He told the Rapids’ website last month that the coaching staff wouldn’t stand in his way if it was the right deal for everyone involved.
"They are not going to hold me back if they see a fair opportunity where both myself and the club would benefit,” he said.
And if a deal were to happen, what will the club use the proceeds for?
“We would reinvest some of that [money] into the infrastructure of the first team group and have some incremental player additions,” Smith told MLSsoccer.com.
