Fresh off the addition of Ecuadorian midfielder Oswaldo Minda, Chivas USA are keeping tabs on two other players who could lift them in 2012.
One is attacker Arturo Alvarez, whom Chivas picked up in the first stage of the MLS Re-Entry Draft earlier this month. The Rojiblancos selected the Houston-born Salvadoran International well aware of his aspirations to pursue other options outside of MLS.
Head coach Robin Fraser has remained in contact with the former Real Salt Lake man (above), who is currently seeking opportunities abroad, but admits that the club will need an answer soon or be forced to look elsewhere.
“I’ve made it clear to him as well, that we’d like to have him here,” Fraser told MLSsoccer.com in a recent phone interview. “But in the meantime, we have to continue to try and build the team so if there comes a point where we acquire so many players and there’s only so much room in the salary cap that we can’t fit him in, then we decide from there.”
While Chivas USA await an answer from Alvarez, the club has been linked with 28-year-old French two-way midfielder Nicolas Dieuze, formerly of French second-division club Grenoble. Dieuze trialed with the Goats in October and even went 45 minutes in a Reserve League match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
A French league veteran, Dieuze played alongside current Chivas winger Laurent Courtois at Toulouse from 1999 to 2001 before moving on to Bastia, where he played with assistant coach Greg Vanney for two seasons. Although Chivas are familiar with Dieuze, Fraser isn’t sure if a move for the Frenchman is prudent at the moment.
“It’s a puzzle that we’re trying to put together and Nicolas is certainly a good player, who would be a good player for us,” Fraser said. “But it’s a decision that is still to be made – if that’s the place that we want to spend the money vs. spending it on another position and fulfilling another need.”
Adam Serrano covers Chivas USA for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached at adam.m.serrano@gmail.com.
