Portland Timbers owner Merritt Paulson has never been shy when it comes to speaking on social media, mainly Twitter. If you ever want a good show, grab some popcorn and watch Paulson implode on Twitter when things aren’t going well for the Timbers. I’m not here to bash Paulson (shocker, I know). I am actually here in regards to his question and answer session he had on Facebook with Timbers and Thorns fan on Tuesday.
Inter Heron
If you want a breakdown of everything that was talked about in the session, follow the link (it takes you to Facebook). The main thing I want to talk about is Paulson and the club wanting to have a USMNT player in 2015.
Paulson was asked if the team would be interested in picking up an USMNT player:
"“With Mix been there done that. We tried and had we landed him Valeri wouldn’t be here (I make that trade any day of week and twice on Sun). There is a USMNT guy on our radar now.”"
I know it’s not much, but it’s something. One could say I am grasping at straws. However, I am not. I think it would be a good move for the Timbers to add a USMNT caliber player to the mix (no pun intended). The only problem being, the club already has three designated players. Most, not all, USMNT players usually require a designated player contract due to their value.
Before you start attacking me, just listen for a second. I know there are tons of USMNT players in MLS that are not DP’s. However, if the Timbers want to make a splash in 2015 and be one of the top teams in the league, they need to sign a USMNT player that would require a DP contract.
The Timbers three designated players are Diego Valeri, Liam Ridgewell and Fanendo Adi. Of those three players, who do you give up or maybe by his contract down? To me the answer is simple. You would have to either release Adi or buy down his DP contract. Valeri is too valuable to release. Ridgewell as well. It’s the only logical answer to me.
Another option for the Timbers could be a player that is on the fringe of being an USMNT player. There are a lot of those players in MLS as well as across the world. Hell, they even have a player on their roster that could be a fringe player if he ever becomes a US citizen. Darlington Nagbe. The Nagbe situation is an article for another day.
What do you think? Will the Timbers get a USMNT player in 2015? Answer the poll (you won’t see the poll if you are on the FanSided app) and let us know in the comments on who you think it might be.
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