Columbus Crew finalizing a deal to acquire high-scoring left wing Diego Rossi
The Crew are in the process of finalizing a deal for left wing Diego Rossi, 25, on a transfer Fenerbahce of the Turkish Super League, according to sources. If it the deal gets done, it'll have to be before the MLS summer transfer window closes Wednesday night.
News began leaking out early Tuesday, a day after Crew star Lucas Zelarayan was sold to a team in Saudi Arabia.
Rossi is a bona fide goal-scoring threat in his prime, and he would be a significant add to the Crew’s high-scoring offense. According to a report from a Turkish outlet, the transfer fee will be between $5.5 million and $6 million. (The Crew record for an outgoing transfer fee is $10 million, for Cucho Hernandez last year.)
Rossi, an Uruguayan national, signed as a young designated player with LAFC in December 2017, prior to LAFC’s inaugural season. In 101 games with LAFC, and with star Carlos Vela as a playmaker, Rossi scored 43 goals. In 2020, a COVID-shortened season, Rossi was the league’s leading scorer with 14 goals in 19 games.
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Rossi was loaned to Fenerbahce, a Turkish league powerhouse, is September 2021. Fenerbahce bought him outright and signed him to a three-year contract last summer. His production has tailed off. He has 10 goals in 64 Super League appearances.
Rossi primarily plays forward on the left wing. He has also played a bit on the right wing and in the middle, up top.
Monday night, with Zelarayan watching from a suite, the Crew beat Mexican powerhouse Club America 4-1 at Lower.com Field. Afterward, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy paid tribute to Zelarayan and then talked about the importance of team-oriented players and moving forward as a group.
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“My job in the beginning of the year when I came was to define the profile of each position to help the scouting department and the front office to understand what type of player and what type of profile we need for the future,” Nancy said. “For me, I'm really pleased to be here because we try to be coherent. There is a trust, also. I know that this is a business, but there is trust in terms of the way we want to play and the way we want to add players, and for me, this is the most important.
“That's why I didn't want to change the team too much when I started to coach Columbus because I wanted to see what we need for the future. The idea is all the time try to get players, yes, but I don't like quantity; I like quality. I prefer to have one player who can play two or three positions instead of three players. This is the way I see it.”
Crew president/general manager Tim Bezbatchenko has conducted the busiest summer season of transactions in Crew history. The summer transfer window opened July 5 and it closes Wednesday night. Within this frame, Bezbatchenko:
Concluded a monthslong search for a left-footed center back with the acquisition of Yevhen Cheberko, 25, a Ukranian national who was playing in Croatia.
Agreed to terminate the contract of Eloy Room, 34, who wanted to go home to the Netherlands.
Sold center back Milos Degenek, 29, to Red Star Belgrade, in part because Degenek wanted to return home to Serbia.
Acquired right wing back Julian Gressel, 29, from the Vancouver Whitecaps. Gressel, who has been among the league’s top assist men since he broke into the league in 2017, assisted on a goal in his Crew debut Monday night. He and the Crew have already begun negotiating a contract extension.
Acquired center back Rudy Camacho, 32, from CF Montreal. Camacho is penciled in to fill the central space left by Degenek.
Sold Zelarayan, 31, to Al Fateh of the Saudi Pro League. The transfer fee is believed to be around $6 million, a figure shy of the team’s record for a sale. (Zach Steffen brought a $7 million fee from Manchester City in 2018.)
The new additions may fit well in the foot-forward style of Nancy’s aggressive system. The Crew lead MLS with 45 goals in 23 games. They are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and above the playoff bar with 11 league games remaining. Their hope is to crack the top four, which would mean two home playoff games.
The Crew’s next game is another Leagues Cup game, in the Round of 32, against Minnesota United on Friday
The Crew return to their MLS season Aug. 20, when FC Cincinnati, the best team in the league, visits Lower.com Field.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew nearing agreement to import former LAFC star Diego Rossi
