Fans had been clamoring for Real Salt Lake to make some moves during the recently-opened transfer window.
They got their wish — at least to a certain extent — on Thursday, when the club announced that it was trading all-time leading scorer Alvaro Saborio to DC United in exchange for Luis Silva.
The 33-year-old Saborio, who had 63 goals in 127 MLS matches and 79 goals in 159 matches across all competitions during his tenure with RSL, will join United after the Gold Cup.
Saborio’s future in Salt Lake City had been the subject of some speculation even before he left to join the Costa Rican national team several weeks ago.
In late June, just before the Gold Cup, the striker had been suspended from the team’s match against the New York Red Bulls. According to reports out of Costa Rica, Saborio, who had been given permission to travel to Ticos teammate Keylor Navas’ wedding, missed his scheduled flight back to Salt Lake due to drunk and aggressive behavior; Saborio then missed RSL’s June 21 match against Sporting Kansas City.
The club denied that the incident had any bearing on its decision to trade Saborio. Given the financial benefits that Real will enjoy, that denial seems more compelling. Although no longer a Designated Player, Saborio remained a highly-paid one, and the trade will clear up some room for RSL to make more moves during the transfer window.
However, Silva has had his share of injury troubles in 2015, which makes the deal seem less of a no-brainer. The Real roster has been decimated by injuries this season, and head coach Jeff Cassar will need all of the healthy talent he can get if RSL is fight its way back into playoff contention.
If Silva can stay injury-free, however, he does bring some scoring acumen of his own. The 26-year-old, who is technically listed as a midfielder but can play up front as well, had 11 goals in 2014 for United.
Silva is unlikely to make his RSL debut this weekend against Houston, but the club believes he can provide an extra spark for Real going into the CONCACAF Champions League later this fall.
