Is Cruz Azul really interested in Nicolas Lodeiro?

If you’ve been on Twitter today, you’ve probably noticed the rumor swirling around Nicolas Lodeiro. In case you haven’t, let me fill you in: Cruz Azul, fresh off their loss to Club America in the Liga MX Gran Final, are looking to bring in a playmaker. One of the players they are eying is apparently Lodeiro.

In fact, Lodeiro was even featured on the cover of one of Mexico’s prominent sports tabloids and the story claims his signing could be announced relatively soon.

This should all be taken with a healthy dose of salt, and not just because the Record is one of the more notorious rumor mongers in Mexico.

While I’ve been told on numerous occasions that “every player is for sale at the right price,” I feel very confident in saying nothing is imminent in regards to Lodeiro being sold to Cruz Azul. By all accounts, the Sounders have every intention of building around Lodeiro both in the near and long-term as he’s under contract through 2021. Coming off a season in which he had eight goals and 16 assists, it’s possible his sell-on price will never be higher than it is now, but he’s still likely more valuable to the Sounders than he would be on the open market.

Making the story even less plausible is that Cruz Azul apparently sees Lodeiro as a potential replacement for Walter Montoya, a player who saw less than 100 minutes this past season.

It should also be said that Pedro Caixinha sets up Cruz Azul in pretty defensive 4-4-2. Lodeiro could probably succeed in that sort of formation, but he’s not necessarily the kind of player who you’d expect Caixinha to target.

Stranger things have certainly happened in the world of soccer transfers, but this doesn’t seem to be one worth worrying about.