One of the key reasons the Portland Timbers won the MLS Cup in 2015 was their potent attacking midfield. That season featured the likes of Diego Valeri in the middle with Rodney Wallace, Darlington Nagbe, Dairon Asprilla, and/or an in form Lucas Melano bossing the wings. Since then, Wallace was sold overseas, Asprilla and Melano took huge dips in form and were loaned out, and Nagbe was thrown all over the pitch in search of a productive home. To that end, the Timbers have finally completed their months long pursuit of wide midfielder Sebastian Blanco and signed the Argentinian to a Designated Player contract.
Portland Timbers Sign Sebastian Blanco, Re-Complete Attacking Midfield
Blanco comes to the Rose City from San Lorenzo in Argentina. The 28-year-old made 285 league appearances while scoring 42 goals. He has also made a pair of international appearances for Argentina with one goal to his name. Portland really splashed the cash to get him, too. They have bought him for a reported $4-5 million and are paying him $1.3 million per season.
Fits in Attacking Midfield
He plays primarily on the left side of midfield, but has scattered starts in the middle and on the right wing. He’s a capable passer who likes to play through balls, but he can also use skill to blow past defenders. In 11 appearances for San Lorenzo this season, he has three goals and five assists while completing 73.9% of his passes. Those five assists would have him tied for second on last year’s Timbers team and that is through only one third of a season.
His accuracy is a little low for Portland standards. That 73.9% completion rate is not even good enough to crack the top 15 on the team. However, his ability to play key passes and run with the ball more than makes up for it. He very well could be the piece that fills the gaping hole left by Rodney Wallace’s departure.
In fact, Blanco’s numbers through eleven games compare quite well to full season 2015 Wallace. He had three goals. five assists, and a 75.7% pass completion rate while playing mostly on the left wing. Given a full season to add to these numbers, Blanco will blow Wallace out of the water.
Nagbe Without a Home Again
The only trouble is that Blanco is best on the left side, which is also where Darlington Nagbe is most productive. Which means one of the Timbers best players is only going to be displaced more than he already is. The best place for him to move would be into a box-to-box central midfield role. This would make the best use of his passing abilities while strengthening the attack through the middle.
Nagbe could be used along the right wing, where he spent most of last season, but his production there is far lower than it should be. He is already not much of a shooter, but he takes fewer from the right side. His passing is less effective over there as well.
Right Wing Conundrum
So, while this creates a juggernaut along the left wing, what should Portland do on the other side? Dairon Asprilla would be an option, as long as he can regain his 2015 form. Darren Mattocks is sort of a poor man’s version of him and could slot in there as well, although he won’t be nearly as good. Jack Barmby could as well, but he is more of a defensive player and wouldn’t add as much to the attack.
With these options, the Timbers can go with a couple different formations depending on which they choose. The first would be the popular 4-3-2-1 with Nagbe and Chara forming a midfield partnership and an attacking corps of Blanco, Valeri, and Asprilla (or Mattocks) spearheaded by Adi up front.
The second option would be falling into a more defensive 4-4-1-1 with a midfield quartet of Blanco, Nagbe, Chara, and Barmby.
Overall, I like the first option better, but I am also not certain Asprilla can be counted on for an entire season and I don’t think Mattocks is up to the task either. Barmby is more of a late game substitute who can enter out wide to protect a late lead, but he isn’t the type of player who can take pressure off the left flank when a goal is needed.
Blanco does a lot to add some excitement to a wide Timbers attack that often fizzled out last year. He stabilizes the left wing in a way that 2016 never saw. As long as Nagbe can find a strong home in the middle and the right wing can be sorted out, we can see the Timbers attack return to the form that helped bring home the MLS Cup just 14 months ago.
