Sounders linked to $10M move for River Plate rising star

With MLS teams breaking their own transfer records at a rather remarkable pace these days, it seems fair to wonder when the Seattle Sounders may join in on that action. While the noise around the Sounders’ transfer strategy has picked up volume, we’ve yet to hear much about moves that would push them into that sort of range. Until now.

Early Wednesday, rumors starting popping up on Twitter that the Sounders were close to finalizing a move for 20-year-old River Plate defensive midfielder Santiago Sosa, a player whose estimated transfer value is close to $10 million and who was reportedly close to moving to Everton last summer on a deal that would have been worth about $17 million.

Before the rumor could really get any kind of hold, though, some more level-headed reporting came out that suggested the Sounders had merely inquired about the player and that his $15 million exit clause was negotiable.

Sosa is definitely an intriguing prospect. He made 12 appearances for the Argentina U-20 team last year during the South American qualifying tournament and U-20 World Cup, seemingly establishing himself as a regular starter. He also has four league starts for River Plate over the past two seasons.

Promising as he may be, though, it’s tough to imagine the Sounders spending so much on a defensive midfielder. This is a position where the Sounders have historically found very good players for a fraction of that price. I would not be surprised to see them spend that sort of money on a player of a similar age, but would expect it to be on a more attack-oriented position.