FC Dallas has completed the signing of 22 year old Paraguayan international striker Cristian Colmán from Nacional Asunción of Paraguay for a reported fee of two million dollars. Colmán will be signed by FC Dallas as a Young Designated Player, pending finalization of his P1 Visa paperwork. He will take the Designated Player spot vacated by Fabian Castillo, who left Dallas for Trabzonspor last year.
Forward Cristian Colmán Signs for FC Dallas
After a busy offseason, it looked like FC Dallas might not land the goal scorer that fans and pundits wanted. But Fernando Clavijo got his man, fending off competition from Brazilian, Argentinian, and Mexican clubs including São Paolo and Lanus.
Colmán has spent three seasons as a professional in the Paraguayan first division. He has good speed for his sturdy six foot frame and has amassed 31 goals over 105 appearances. He also earned three caps for the Paraguayan U23 national team at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto. Paraguay finished third in their group behind Mexico and Uruguay in that competition.
As a young designated player, Colmán will carry a budget charge of $200,000, rather than the maximum of $457,500. Additionally, FC Dallas does not have to pay the $150,000 fee for signing a third Designated Player because of his age.
Given his Designated Player status, Colmán will likely slot directly into the starting eleven at the top of FC Dallas’ frequently used 4-2-3-1 formation. If he does, will Maxi Urruti become a super sub or perhaps find a role on the right or left side of the attacking three? Pareja could of course opt to play two strikers, especially if his team needs a goal. Pareja experimented with formations at the end of last season as he tried to cope with the loss of Mauro Díaz. Since Díaz is expected to be out through June, Pareja will likely continue to experiment to find a formation that fits his impressive new look squad.
Cristian Colmán continues a pattern of lower profile South American designated player signings for Pareja and Clavijo. They choose to comb their native South American continent for promising young talent rather than splash the cash on pricey European veterans. Given their back-to-back Western conference titles and the recent addition of two trophies, it looks like a formula that works.
