This will likely come as little consolation, but ESPN has pumped the brakes ever so slightly on a BCC report that Obafemi Martins move was already completed.
"With Oba, it's not done until it's done," a source told ESPN.
At the same, it's not entirely clear what the final hurdle may be. The sides have apparently agreed to a fee of about $3 million. It's possible Martins is still trying to negotiate personal terms, or is possibly even still unsure about how keen he is to move to China.
But reading between the lines a bit, the 31-year-old is probably looking for one more big payday and he's much more likely to get it from a club like Shanghai Shenua than he is from the Sounders at this point. The Sounders already gave Martins a raise and extension last year that upped his annual salary from about $1.7 million to more than $3 million per year and guaranteed him through 2017.