The will-he-or-won’t-he game in Commerce City continues for Gabriel Torres, but the Colorado Rapids are wheeling and dealing anyway in anticipation of the 24-year-old Panamanian striker signing his name on the dotted line.
A league source told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday night that the deal to acquire the Gold Cup star from Venezuela’s Zamora FC was “done,” but Rapids sources backtracked on Thursday, saying the deal is “close” but not yet complete.
Colorado head coach Oscar Pareja told The Denver Post on Wednesday that Torres "wants to be here. Everything was agreed to. Now we're waiting.” But, he added, Zamora are balking at the transfer, despite Pareja also telling the paper that the sides had agreed to terms.
Adding to the now-public negotiations, Torres tweeted on Tuesday night that no deal had officially been reached and that he was in talks with different clubs. Reports out of Panama this week said Torres is back home in the Central American nation and not in the United States.
One deal, however, that looks to be close is one for veteran striker Vicente Sánchez. The Uruguayan, a veteran of the Mexican league and the German Bundesliga, was in Colorado on Wednesday for a visit with the Rapids. The 33-year-old is expected to sign this week from Uruguayan side Nacional.
To make space on the roster for – ideally – both players, Colorado released Kevin Harbottle on Wednesday after a disappointing seven-month stay in Commerce City in which the Chilean midfielder/forward scored no goals in four appearances after arriving from Chilean side Universidad Católica in January.
The Rapids also announced a short-term loan of Homegrown defender Davy Armstrong to USL PRO side Phoenix FC on Wednesday.
With the two departures, Colorado now have four international spots available (defender Diego Calderón is on the disabled list), and three available roster spots (also including Calderón), set up for possible transactions.
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
