The Portland Timbers announced today that they have signed forward Lucas Melano to a DP contract. The Argentine joins the Timbers from Lanús, the same club which Diego Valeri joined Portland from. Sources including Sports Illustrated have reported the transfer fee at $5 million, with Melano signing a four-year guaranteed contract paying around $1 million per year.
The Timbers are able to sign Melano to a designated player contract, having used MLS’s new targeted allocation money to pay down the salary of previous designated player Fanendo Adi.
Melano, who had drawn interest from clubs in Spain and Mexico, including Villarreal, Celta Vigo and Santos Laguna has five goals in 14 league games for Lanús so far this year. He is a pacey striker who also has good size, standing 6’1” and can play either center forward or on the wing. At only 22 years old, Melano fits the Timbers typical designated player signing, as they’ve tended to target young DPs with great potential, rather than big-named stars in the latter stages of their career.
Melano burst onto the scene in 2013, scoring three goals in Lanús Copa Sudamericana win as a 20-year old. He then followed that up by being one of the breakout young players in the 2014 Copa Libertadores.
MLS’s new targeted allocation money allowed the Timbers to make this signing without having to sell one of their existing DPs. After a slow offensive start to the season, there had been speculation that the Timbers would invest heavily in a forward in this transfer window, with Fanendo Adi the most likely departure. This new mechanism allows the Timbers to keep Adi, who is in a run of good form and has been their most consistent forward this year, while also investing in a player they clearly believe can make a difference, now and in the future.
Melano joins an already crowded and talented front line alongside Adi and fellow Argentine Maxi Urruti, and it will be interesting to see how Timbers’ head coach Caleb Porter balances minutes among the three. In 2014 and so far this year, Porter has tended to ride the hot hand between Adi and Urruti, and consistently used whichever did not start as a late game substitute, often with great impact. Melano will complicate that rotation, but if he’s as good as the Timbers believe him to be, he may quickly become their number one option.
Porter said in a press release that the club tried to purchase Melano before his move to Lanús.
Melano is a player we’ve had our eye on for some time and we are extremely pleased to finally announce his addition,” said Porter. “Lucas is a very exciting, dynamic player with pace and individual game-changing ability. His versatility to be able to play any of the front four positions in our system also gives us flexibility to mesh him with our other quality pieces. We feel confident Lucas will make an immediate impact on our goal production this season but will also continue to grow with the club and be a key fixture in MLS for years to come.”
While midseason acquisitions can sometimes find it a difficult transition to MLS, Melano will be helped by playing among his countrymen. Melando becomes the fifth Argentine on the Timbers roster, joining Diego Valeri, Gaston Fernandez, Norberto Paparatto and Urruti.
