With Chris Leitch on his way to San Jose, the New York Red Bulls need to fill the right back spot. The club looks to be closing in on an option in Costa Rican defender Carlos Johnson.
“We are very far along in our discussions with Carlos Johnson,” Agoos said. “We thought with the strong possibility with Carlos coming in and with Carlos Mendes and Jeremy Hall being able to play at that position, we felt that Chris would be better served playing in San Jose.”
The Red Bulls are considering six different players for their roster, including two new faces that played in a 1-1 draw with Argentinos Juniors Tuesday morning in Buenos Aries. Nicolas Villafane and Gabriel Quirulef, both members of the Boca Juniors system, impressed on Tuesday.
“I think if we had an expanded roster, it would be more of a likelihood of one or both being able to make this roster,” Agoos said. “Nicolas did very well today, Gabriel did well also and they’re players we’re going to keep through the rest of this camp and make an assessment at the end of this camp on what the direction is with both of them.”
One player who missed the scrimmage was Spanish midfielder Albert Celades, who sat out with a thigh bruise. His quality and versatility has the Red Bulls interested.
“He can play in a number of positions in the midfield, but I think he’s better suited centrally than out wide,” Agoos said of Celades. “He’s a very talented player and with the pedigree he has, coming from Real Madrid and Barcelona, you know there’s something behind it. He hasn’t played in a number of months so he’s getting back into fitness.
“We’re in preliminary discussions in terms of where each party stands. We’re not very far along, to be quite honest,” Agoos said. “Right now we’re just have two parties interested in each other and we’re trying to figure out if there’s some common ground.”
Agoos also denied reports out of El Salvador that claim the Red Bulls have agreed to terms with Salvadoran national team left back Alfredo Pacheco.
“I’ve heard there were reports that said there was an agreement of terms, but that’s not an accurate statement,” Agoos said. “To be quite honest it would be difficult for me to comment about a player who is currently with another club right now.”
What do you think of these developments? Like the idea of the Red Bulls adding Johnson? More concerned about the left back spot? Are you hoping the team finds room for the Boca Juniors trialists?
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