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Until Maurice Edu was officially signed by the Philadelphia Union, Philadelphia was on top of the allocation order. Since officially signing Edu, the Seattle Sounders now hold that spot , which could be coveted by a few teams as Marco Pappa is coming back to MLS.
One of those teams could be the Montreal Impact as the club is looking for reinforcements, in the early stages of training camp.
As we speak, the Impact is ranked 9th on the allocation order and needs to make a jump to the first spot to select Pappa. Making that jump would involve a trade with the Seattle Sounders, who is rumored to be interested in the Guatemalan winger.
But let's be honest, who isn't Seattle rumored to be after nowadays.
The Impact is actually very familiar with the allocation process as it traded Eddie Johnson to the Seattle Sounders for Mike Fucito and Lamar Neagle. Seattle parted ways with two young prospects for Johnson but that trade ended up being a bust for les Bleus.
Fucito played less than 45 minutes with Montreal and Neagle was traded back to Seattle a year later, seemingly the only club in which he can flourish.
A bit like Seattle in 2012, the Impact would need to make a trade to go after Pappa. The dynamic left winger has made his intentions clear and is coming back to MLS.
Hago oficial mi regreso ala MLS lo cual me tiene más que feliz , gracias a muchos por sus buenas vibras , ya con muchas ansias de empezar ..
— Marco Pappa (@marcopappas16) 21 Janvier 2014
Clubs holding the top allocation spot will either use it or get leverage for it to get value via a trade; like D.C. United to get Jeff Parke. Eight other clubs are in front of the Impact and with a squad that is already on the light side, can the club afford to trade up and sign Pappa ?
Matteo Ferrari's recent comments ,at training camp, filters out a fear among some players that the 2014 Impact has not improved at all.
I think we need to improve. Right now, if I think about [last year's team] , I think that we are not as good. We lost key players and we did not replace anybody.
The question still stands. Who can the Impact trade to the Seattle Sounders (or the club that will hold the top allocation spot at the time of the trade) ?
- Collen Warner: Good value but represents depth and MLS experience at the midfield position
- Calum Mallace: He might not be in the club's plans as other young players are pushing for a place in the midfield
- Jeb Brovsky: Reliable player but would he interest another MLS club at this stage of his career?
- Sanna Nyassi: Interesting profile as per speed and bringing depth but is not cost effective for many MLS budgets
- Blake Smith: Interesting prospect, cap-friendly and interesting potential
- Felipe Martins: Did I dare put Felipe's name as a trade bait for the Impact to get Pappa? Frank Klopas knows Pappa more than he knows Felipe.
