TUKWILA, Wash. – Despite a 10-day break from games, the next couple weeks could be busy ones for the Seattle Sounders. Busier than the team would prefer, perhaps, as the transfer window re-opens on July 9.
In addition to having to make a decision on Mario Martínez’s loan – due to expire on June 30 – the Sounders have also acknowledged that they are at least exploring the possibility of adding a player “up the spine” during that summer transfer window.
One such player on their radar is Levante center back David Navarro. Reports out of Spain have suggested that the Sounders have already made the 33-year-old an offer. Although the Sounders would not confirm those reports, sporting director Chris Henderson confirmed there’s at least some interest.
“David’s a good player,” Henderson said on Tuesday. “He’s a guy we watched several times play because he was teammates with [Obafemi Martins]. He’s a move I don’t know if we’re going to be able to make or not, but I think he’s a player who’d do well in MLS.”
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Navarro has a reputation for being a physical player and played well enough to lead Levante in both appearances (35) and minutes (3,084) last season. He also scored a goal and had a pair of assists for the mid-table club.
Adding Navarro, or any similarly pedigreed player, would not be as easy as getting him to agree to terms, though.
“We’d have to make some moves in order to do it,” Henderson said. “Those are conversations we have – whether it’s going to be right for the team and right for us to try and make a push to improve the team in the window. It’s all timing. It’s timing with the players, but for us, we’re at least looking. We look at multiple positions, but there are a few, and usually key positions are up the spine for teams where impact players can come in.”
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One move that could potentially weigh into the Sounders’ flexibility is the status of Martínez, who has been given a few days off after spending the past several weeks with the Honduran national team. He’s due to rejoin his Seattle teammates on Friday.
“We’re clear on what we want to do, it’s just a matter of if it’s going to work out financially,” Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid said. “It’s a league that has a salary cap, so that’s something we have to consider when we do any of these negotiations.”
