It’s been a busy offseason across MLS already, and expansion teams aside, no organization has been busier than the Portland Timbers. The Timbers made a number of moves in the first day following MLS Cup, which you can find our coverage of here. In case you weren’t following along, here’s who Portland acquired on Day One of the MLS offseason:
- Jeanderson Salvador Pereira (LB)
- Nat Borchers (CB)
- Dairon Asprilla (RW/CF)
- Adam Larsen Kwarasey (GK)
The Timbers also completed the purchase of RB Alvas Powell who had been in Portland on loan, and traded Michael Harrington to the Colorado Rapids. Then, in the Expansion Draft, Orlando City shocked pretty much everybody by selecting Timbers GK Donovan Ricketts first overall, which allowed Portland to protect LB Jorge Villafana, ensuring they didn’t lose anyone of value in the Expansion Draft.
While it’s obviously too soon to make any judgement about quality of the acquisitions Portland made, on paper, things could not have gone better. Going into the offseason the Timbers biggest areas of need were CB, depth at fullback, and goalkeeper. While having Donovan Ricketts in goal for 2015 would have been okay, the clock is ticking, and with obvious successor, goalkeeper was an area of need. With Steve Zakuani retiring, Gaston Fernandez out of contract, and the potential of losing players in the Expansion Draft, depth on the wings was also a need.
In just a few moves, Portland seemed to address all of these. In Jeanderson, Portland acquired a left-back who they felt was good enough to allow them to leave Villafana unprotected in the Expansion Draft. That they were able to still keep Villafana means Portland has two left-backs they likely feel are starter quality, which is never a bad thing. In Borchers, the Timbers picked up a center-back partner for Liam Ridgewell, and, crucially, one who is proven in MLS. Last year’s signing of Norberto Papparatto was supposed to solve Portland’s issues at center-back, but did not go as planned. While Papparatto recovered from a disastrous start to have a decent season, he never inspired confidence. Borchers brings years of MLS experience to help solidify what was a shaky back line in 2014. Kwarasey, signed from Strømsgodset of the Norwegian Tippeligaen, brings World Cup experience and was named Tippeligaen goalkeeper of the year in 2013. At only 27, and signed to a multi-year contract, he appears to be the long term solution. Orlando City’s selection of Ricketts in the Expansion Draft actually helped Portland, as they were able to shed Ricketts’ contract and receive allocation money in return.
Perhaps the most interesting move was the signing of winger/forward Dairon Asprilla from Colombian side Alianza Petrolera. Asprilla is intriguing mostly because of where he plays on the field. Portland announced him as a winger/forward, and based on various YouTube highlight compilations, he appears o have played mostly on the right wing, a position currently occupied in Portland by Darlington Nagbe. Despite struggling to score in 2014, Nagbe remains one of the Timbers most influential players, and it’s unlikely Asprilla will replace him in the starting XI.
While Asprilla may have been signed simply as depth on the wing and at forward, a versatile, young attacker who can fill in for multiple roles, there’s another possibility that I’d like to explore. With Timbers playmaker Diego Valeri set to miss the start of the season recovering from ACL surgery, and the status of his most obvious replacement, Gaston Fernandez, still in question, it’s possible that Asprilla was signed so that Darlington Nagbe could begin the season as Portland’s central attacking midfielder.
While Nagbe has played most of his career as a winger, 2014 saw his role in the Timbers attack transforming from scorer to playmaker. Some of that had to do with his struggles to put the ball in the net, but it was clear that Caleb Porter was asking Nagbe to be more of a distributor, setting up others for chances, and it showed, with Nagbe trailing only Diego Valeri among Timbers players in chances created.
Nearly all of his assists came from the middle areas as well. Mostly, this was due to the fluidity of positioning among Portland’s attacking midfielders. The three behind the striker, usually Nagbe, Valeri, and Wallace/Fernandez would rotate positions throughout the match, creating space for each other than taking advantage of matchups. This meant that while Nagbe started on the right wing, he spent a fair bit of time in the middle, where his ball control and vision could exploit openings in opposing defenses.
Caleb Porter would probably prefer to have Gaston Fernandez back in 2015, and he probably will. Timbers GM Gavin Wilkinson said this week in an appearance on Soccer Made in Portland that the Timbers are very confident Fernandez will be back in 2015, that he’s committed to playing for Caleb Porter and playing in Portland.
That said, should talks between Fernandez break down, Nagbe is certainly a viable option for a more central role. Even if Fernandez signs, expect to see Nagbe spend significant time centrally in 2015, especially while Valeri continues to recover.
Wilkinson also said this week that he, Porter, and Timbers owner Merritt Paulson had a plan going into the offseason, and that thus far everything has gone exactly according to plan. While it remains to be seen how the new players will adjust and whether or not they’ll be successful, it certainly seems as if the offseason is off to a great start for Portland, and the Timbers faithful have every reason to be excited for what 2015 will look like. Having addressed their needs in the first team, Portland can now use the rest of the offseason, including the MLS Super Draft, to add depth and some players for the future who can begin their development with the Timbers USL Pro squad, T2.
