Rapids head coach Gary Smith and his assistant, Steve Guppy, continue to pursue an English player currently under contract with a club in the top league in Greece.
Smith spoke with the player’s agent during a recent trip to England and admitted earlier this week that there was a lot of interest from the player’s end in coming to Colorado.
Though the player is yet unnamed by Rapids staff, two English players are listed as currently playing for Greek club Skoda Xanthi: Jordan Stewart, a defender, and Nathan Ellington, a striker.
[inline_node:325674]Both players are known to Smith from their Watford links — Smith is a former reserve team coach at Watford — but the Rapids coach said these players were not on his radar. Matt Derbyshire is another English player on the books in Greece, playing for Olimpiacos. The former Blackburn Rovers striker is currently on loan with Birmingham City back in England.
Smith said that if the deal for the player can go ahead, he would try and get him before a March 31 deadline — even though he is contracted in Greece until the end of June. If Smith cannot get the player out of the contract, he would have to wait until the July transfer window to bring him over.
The next Rapids transfer moves could come during the SuperDraft. Smith said he has his eyes on “one or two targets” that could become available with all the wheeling and dealing that happens during draft time. He will also take the time to attend the MLS Combine in January to spot emerging college talent.
“There’s always an awful lot of movement down there (at the draft) and we will want to position ourselves so that we can try and force someone’s hand on one or two targets,” he told MLSsoccer.com.
Former Rapids striker Herculez Gomez is not a target. The World Cup veteran is currently out of favor in Mexico, but Smith said he thought it would be a step in the wrong direction to target such a player.
“I like Herc a lot, but it would be a backward move — not in terms of quality, but having had the player here already,” he said.
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