Let’s start this by saying there’s a rumor that Austin FC is in for a 30-year-old striker.
You might be concerned by that, knowing that the club’s gone down this path before, as recently as last year, and it hasn’t ever worked out in the way that you’d want for a starting striker signing. That would be an understandable and totally justifiable reaction.
But let’s say he’s 30 and playing in the Bundesliga, got two caps last year with the German national team, scored double-digit goals the prior three seasons for Werder Bremen, and is a bit off his normal pace this season but still getting a goal contribution every 115 minutes.
Suddenly it looks a lot better, right?
The transfer rumor was shared a few weeks ago by Sky Germany, which is certainly more reputable that Random Online Guy. He’s previously been linked to possible moves to teams in Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which means a possibly hefty payday that might not be matched by Austin FC sporting director Rodolfo Borrell. Then again, testing himself in MLS could be appealing at this stage.
I did a little digging into his numbers, which include some pretty eye-popping percentile ratings for the Big Five European leagues, which could turn into even better percentile ratings if he’s not playing Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, or RB Leipzig.
Maybe this is a bit hyperbolic to say, but … he’s potentially German Chicho Arango. (At least in some categories.)
It’s chart time.
