Rumor Roundup: Jose Escalante, Rafael "Gladiador," and Branko Boskovic

Though the Andy Najar news is the biggest of the day, there are other rumors that need to be mongered.The first is that Jose Escalante, currently with CD Olimpia in Honduras, has been linked with a move either to Mexico or to D.C. United. Escalante has only played four games with Olimpia so far, although he did play in a World Football Classic match held in Boston, scoring the only goal for Olimipia in their game against AC Milan. However, the article believes that Escalante would first play with the D.C. United reserves or U-23 team; as he is only 17 and has only four professional matches to his name, this would be the most likely option. We have yet to see any of these Hondurans linked in their press sign with D.C. United, so we shall see.

Rafael Gladiador, rumored to be signed to a year long loan with D.C. United, has given an interview with the Brazilian press. The main thrust of the article is that he needs new experiences in order to continue to grow, as he is not yet breaking in as a starter with EC Bahia and cannot continue to grow with their reserves. However, the key tidbit for us is that the article claims that United will pay R$ 120,000, which currently converts to about $58,000, for the year. If you click through to the interview, you can also see a picture of Gladiador giving his thumbs down goal celebration.

Finally, Branko Boskovic has given an interview with an Austrian newspaper in which he states that Rapid Vienna is his preferred place to sign. He apparently also has offers from China and Dubai, but will only entertain those offers if Rapid declines to sign him. Also in this article is news that Rapid Vienna is chasing Mix Diskerud, currently of Rosenborg and a target of the Portland Timbers. I think Diskerud would be better served going to Portland than Vienna; if he wants to make a leap to a bigger club in Europe, he may as well stay in Norway for one more season.