Franco Niell

by Martin Shatzer on Jan 7, 2008 3:11 PM EST

The front office has had a pretty busy week down in Argentina. Goff reports, and it appears to be confirmed by Pasion Paternal, that Argentine forward Franco Niell will be joining DC United on a one-year loan for $60,000, with an option to buy for $900,000, pending a medical exam on January 24th.

$60,000 to loan this guy sounds like a great deal. There are doubts about his size and his recent statistics. But this guy should be in front of Kpene and Addlery on the depth chart just based on his nationality alone!

Whether Moreno is back this year or not, I'm excited about this deal. If Jaime is playing for one more year, then Niell should provide quality relief, as Jaime will certainly not be playing many 90 minute games. If Moreno is outie, then Niell could potentially be a starter next to Emilio, although then I hope that we still pursue one additional forward. That or Kevin Payne needs to invent a way to somehow combine each of the positive attributes of Rod and Guy and Nick into a single player.

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A 24-year-old Argentine striker. Sounds good to me. I like Kpene and Addlery though. Especially Kpene. You can't put Niell ahead of them based solely on nationality, but considering the money they're paying just to loan him, he must be pretty good. Sounds great to me. Even if it's just a loan and not a buy, Niell will be good support. I'm not too worried about DCU's offense, what with Emilio, Fred, Olsen, etc. But the defense I am a bit worried about. For some reason I am more excited about Peralta than Niell.
Why I don't know. Niell looks good, though. We're finally making progress rather than cleaning the bench. :)

by Tziporah on Jan 7, 2008 5:41 PM EST reply actions