TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Reports
Argentinean media outlets continue to link LA Galaxy head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto to players with ties to his former club, Boca Juniors, and the latest reports concern Sebastian Villa and Ricardo Centurion after ESPN Argentinalinked the two in a report.
A Colombian international seeking regular playing time in order to contend for a place on his country’s Copa America roster later this year, Villa is an attacking player capable of working out wide, up top or in central positions. The 22-year-old joined Boca from Deportes Tolima last year, and will be familiar to Schelotto, who managed the Buenos Aires giants from 2016 until last month. ESPN's report states that the Galaxy were one of multiple teams that Villa and his agent have reached out to.
Centurion’s case is a bit more complex. The 26-year-old Argentine joined Racing Club last year, but has fallen out with manager Eduardo Coudet – who had a stint with the Philadelphia Union during his own playing career – after pushing Coudet and refusing to accept a substitute’s role vs. River Plate over the weekend. The club has reportedly offered him to the Galaxy.
According to an Olé report, Schelotto – who coached Centurion during a successful loan spell at Boca in 2016 – likes the left winger, but it’s phrased as only “a slight chance that he will go to Los Angeles,” due to Centurion’s high wages and the Galaxy’s current glut of Designated Players.
LA currently have four DPs on their books – Romain Alessandrini, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and brothers Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos – and must either part company with one of them or renegotiate one of their contracts to remove the DP tag in order to meet MLS roster rules by the start of the season.
