Seattle Sounders could be mining Deportivo Cali for a third time, as a rumor that attacking midfielder Carlos Lizarazo could head to Major League Soccer and Sounders FC. SSFC Rumors has the connection in this tweet.
SOURCE: Carlos Lizarazo (Dep Cali) could be heading to MLS, with Seattle as the most likely destination http://t.co/u7x7aq5mZn @MLSTransfers
— SSFC_Rumors (@SSFC_Rumors) December 4, 2014
Lizarazo is a similar player to Marco Pappa. The 23-year-old is mostly a central midfielder who shoots from distance, but also spends time in wide places. He is not an assist man, but his highlight video (above) shows some fancy footwork in tight spaces. He scored 12 goals in 2013 with four assists. In 2014 he only scored twice with an assist in all competitions (including Copa Sudamericana and Copa Libertodores), but also played just 1,600 minutes. Sigi tends to put creative players in wide places, especially with the likes of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins dropping deep centrally.
Deportivo Cali avoided relegation after an awful 2014 Spring season, following it up with a Fall season that ended just short of the Finals. Colombia is the nation with the seventh most players in MLS (behind USA, Canada, Argentina, England, Jamaica and Brazil).
Lizarazo seems to be a player that would fit the Special Discovery Player rule, rather than as a Designated Player.
Special Discovery Players: Each team may have only one Special Discovery signing per year. Special Discovery signings will occupy one of a team's six Discovery Player slots. Teams may amortize the total amount of acquisition costs over the term of the player's contract as long as the amortized amount and the player's salary do not exceed the Maximum Salary Budget Charge.
This may just be the type of thing that gets filtered out through an agent or a scout, but Lizarazo fits the profile of the type of player that MLS and Seattle would add.