Club holding up Roman Torres transfer finally speaks

After reports emerged suggesting the Roman Torres transfer to Seattle Sounders FC had fallen through, due to Chepo FC's apparent veto of the move, Panama fans and national team players reacted with relentless criticism of the Panamanian club. This public pressure likely forced Chepo to release the following statement:

Respuesta del @chepofc por el caso de @romantorres05 #FutbolRPC pic.twitter.com/ugUmzzy5dt

— RPCTV Panamá (@rpctvpanama) August 8, 2015

Sounder at Heart reader Moohead provided a rough translation:

1. Our intention is that RomanTorres plays wherever he wants.

2. understand that the transfer documents were already sent to MLS.

3. after legal advice we cannot sign a document giving up our rights to the player. This is what any team in the world would do.

4. right now we’re not requesting any financial remuneration.

5. unfortunately the leak of confidential information has complicated the solution, but we hope that everything comes to fruition in the interest of the player and football.

Sincerely,

Peter Johnson

President

It would appear as though Chepo isn't necessarily asking for financial compensation for this particular move, but it isn't willing to part with its share of Torres' rights, in the hope that they will reap the benefits of future transfers involving Panama's captain. The good news is that negotiations are apparently ongoing, most likely concerning Chepo's ownership interest rather than a transfer fee, so there is reason to believe the deal can still get done.

Previously reports have suggested Torres was due to meet the Sounders in Southern California ahead of Sunday's game with the LA Galaxy. If he's there, that would obviously be a good sign that something may work out soon.