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What We Learned This Week SPECIAL EDITION: The latest on the Obed Vargas transfer to Atletico Madrid
0 Playsin 40 minutes
Niko joined Jeremiah for an emergency podcast to discuss the very imminent transfer of Obed Vargas from the Sounders to Atletico Madrid. Although no official announcement has been made the deal sounds to be effectively done with a contract through 2030 and the Sounders are expected to retain a significant sell-on percentage and a transfer fee likely in the $3-5 million range. They also discuss who the likely replacements will be in the Sounders midfield and what the financial flexibility the transfer provides.
Follow Niko Moreno on BlueSky and YouTube.
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Transcript
Introduction and Will Bruin's New Role
00:00:01
Speaker
Hi, I'm Will Bruin, and I was just recognized as a Seattle Sounders legend. Now I get to do voice reads for the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network. Here we go.
00:00:11
Speaker
Come on. Hey, O'Shaan. Let's go.
Seattle Sounders MLS Cup Celebration
00:00:15
Speaker
The Seattle Sounders have done it. MLS Cup winners. Here comes Ruiz Diaz through the middle to crown it for Seattle.
00:00:25
Speaker
The Sounders rule the region.
Commentary Decisions in Podcasting
00:00:58
Speaker
what was the thought process in terms of who you decided to use and who you didn't? Ever since I wrote a commentary that we didn't take the outcome seriously.
Nos Arietes Podcast Sponsorship
00:01:18
Speaker
This episode of Nos Arietes is sponsored by Full Pull Wines, a Seattle-based wine retailer and proud sponsor of Nos Arietes since 2011. Full Pull was founded in 2009, is based in Seattle, and is owned and operated by longtime Sounder supporters.
00:01:32
Speaker
They offer the best boutique wines of the world to members of their mailing list, with special focus on their home, Pacific Northwest.
Breaking News: Obed Vargas Transfer Speculations
00:01:41
Speaker
Welcome back to another episode of Nos Adientes on the Sounder at Heart podcast network. We're doing bit of a kind of a, I guess, an emergency podcast, you could say. i am getting ready to get on a plane to Spain.
00:01:55
Speaker
So I don't have, I'm not going to have, I'm going to be out of commission for at least a day. And in the meantime, I very strongly suspect that the Obed Vargas transfer news will officially break.
00:02:07
Speaker
Joining me to talk about this, my good buddy, Nico Moreno. How you doing, Nico? Hey, what's going on, Jeremiah?
Obed Vargas Transfer Developments
00:02:14
Speaker
And yeah, let's call it what it is, man. It is an emergency. What we learned this week or podcast or whatever you want to call it I have branded today as over Vargas day is going to be all about him, you know, 24 seven, at least when he comes to the socials and rightfully so we should be through Sandra Hart, who is the the main outlet that has been covering this from end to end.
00:02:41
Speaker
ah So I just felt like it was necessary for us to be out there, getting in front. And I know people want to hear your takes, Jeremiah. I feel like I'm sick people mine, but definitely your takes. And and you know maybe some of the things that we've been able to add on, and I say add on because I was on Loving's Quarters like two hours ago. And as the, unfortunately for me, as the information has come very slowly, we've got a couple more things that we could add to to things.
00:03:12
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. No, I think it's, it's funny because we keep sort of like last night, just to give you a peek behind the curtain, you and I were, we're actually going to record at like seven o'clock last night. And we said, well, let's wait because maybe by 11 PM, it'll be early. It'll be the next business day in Madrid.
00:03:31
Speaker
Maybe the ah news will be official by then. Let's just wait till 11, 11 comes around. There's no announcement. And we're thinking, well, by the time we get up in the morning, we'll, this will be official, right?
00:03:42
Speaker
And still here we are. It's now almost 11 o'clock AM on Monday morning. And there's still nothing official, but all the signs point to this deal being done.
00:03:54
Speaker
There's multiple videos of Obed Vargas getting out of his SUV and ah arriving at the Atletico Madrid offices. There are now pretty substantial rumors about him going on loan.
00:04:09
Speaker
Once he signs with Atletico Madrid, it looks like he will be staying in Liga. The favorite seems to be Celta Vigo. but there's some other teams that have been mentioned. And that's sort of where we are. We don't have a lot of hard news. Like we don't have a transfer fee.
00:04:26
Speaker
We don't have an exact sell on percentage, although the reporting is that the Sounders are going to retain a significant sell on percentage.
Challenges and Impact of Vargas's Transfer
00:04:33
Speaker
But I think we can talk about this as if it's a done deal, even though we can't get into the details because everything we're hearing, and I think you've actually been able to confirm that this is a done deal, right?
00:04:44
Speaker
Yes, as of just minutes ago, i have been able to confirm that the deal is done according to at least one source. It sounds like the...
00:04:55
Speaker
contract It is through 2030 it has been reported previously. But again, I like to do my own reporting. And unfortunately for us, the information has been very slow, at least for for me. i Not because I haven't been trying because I was just talking about it on Loving's Quarters on Friday after we did our show. i was up till two in the morning of Saturday trying to figure something out because things were starting to change.
00:05:23
Speaker
um connect and I was starting to get some indications that things were happening and unfortunately in the morning of ah the the big boys got it and both you and I both knew, I think, that the Fabricios and the Merlos were going to have the inside lane on this ah between where the information was coming from, ah the team that could potentially be getting over Vargas, and the fact that that we were at a whole different other time zone that was making it very difficult to get certain information. And therefore, you know, they got it first and, you know, props to them. But now that we have been able to confirm at least through one source that this is a done deal. And by the time you put this out, Jeremiah, I'm sure is going to be even more, more certain. We can talk about, you know, how it all came about, what it means. I'm happy for Obed. I think the biggest piece of news will be where he goes.
00:06:24
Speaker
I know that Salto Vigo has been the trending team or the one that at least one person has told me that there's absolutely talks to potentially, um not through his representation, but throughout the conversations of the negotiation, Salto Vigo has been thrown out as a team that could potentially take him as part of a loan. But talking to some media members that I know in Spain, they were also telling me that Celta Vigo is waiting on some movements specifically to a midfielder from Lazio that they had been talking to. And so that there is a lot of moving parts and therefore they don't doubt that there is a need. And it would be great to have a guy like Obert Vargas be loaned. ah to Saltavigo, but that there's nothing confirmed just yet. So where he goes, how much time he plays, how his adaptation process goes. I will tell you this, Jeremiah, that...
00:07:25
Speaker
at the very least in the marketing department, it has been beneficial for him when he comes to his ultimate goal of making the Mexican um national team roster because it's been everywhere. People are saying, well, now that he's in, ah now that Atletico Madrid has pointed him out as a talent, now all of a sudden he has to be part of the the national team. ah But I still believe that It will all go back to whether or not he's playing minutes. And so it's been a spectacle. It's been all kinds of information about Owen Burgers everywhere. um And so, yeah, that's kind of part of it.
00:08:07
Speaker
Yeah, it is interesting how, you know, we there was definitely some chatter in the sort of social spaces about Obed over the last year or so, especially especially in Mexican media. But the volume of chatter has just gone through the roof. I mean, he is being talked about on all the big Mexican media.
00:08:29
Speaker
football shows. He, this is like suddenly the it player. And it's funny how just sort of the, you know, how the pursuit of Obed by Atletico has totally seemingly changed his profile, especially in Mexico where, you know, I don't know. I don't know how high high profile of a player he was other than he was the guy who kept turning down Mexico, you Liga Mechies teams, ah big Liga Mechies teams. And I, you know, it's gotta be said his strategy seems to have paid off.
00:09:01
Speaker
You know, we have talked a lot about this, about how there was some risk associated with basically saying, i only want to go to certain teams.
00:09:12
Speaker
And by all indications, he's going to end up exactly where he wanted to be. You know, he's talked openly about being at Atletico Madrid fan since he was 10 years old. He, know, when the Sounders drew Atletico in the club world cup, he talked about how excited he was, especially to play against El Cholo, which is a Simeone's nickname. He has been, you know, after the game, he, he exchanged jerseys with Antoine Griezmann and he talked about what a big fan he was. I mean, this has been, it's hard to sort of,
00:09:44
Speaker
ah overstate, frankly, how this is playing out exactly the way that he wanted. Like the the money might not be, I suspect he's not going to get a huge ah payday out of all this. I mean, he'll probably get some, a decent amount of money, but there's probably ways where you could have engineered this, where he got more money, but he is exactly where he wants to be.
Sounders' Strategy and Financial Implications
00:10:04
Speaker
He is exactly in the situation that he wants to be in.
00:10:08
Speaker
Absolutely. And it's not just about, know, where he's going um and the time that he's going in But to me, it's ultimately a decision that in my opinion, the Sounders are are part of the move. that They're part of that push to get him to the right place, right? i have no doubt that his ah representation group, speaking of Owed Vargas, did a whole lot of moving around, but you could not at this time, and with very little insight, tell me that um we, that the Sounders didn't have a lot of push into their,
00:10:55
Speaker
um relationship with Atletico Madrid. I mentioned that this morning that aside from the videos that we saw between Obed and Antoine Grissman, there were conversations had between front front office members of the Sounders and front office members of Atletico Madrid. So there is a level of credit that I want to give the Sounders for making this deal to this specific team.
00:11:20
Speaker
Yeah. You know, I think that this is as big as this is for Obed. i think it's also really big for the Sounders. Now, one of the, surely one of the topics of conversation is going to be some for like, my suspicion is that transfer fee is going to be somewhere in like the three to $5 million dollar range, not the 10 to $15 million dollars range that, you know, sometimes had been thrown around there as possible. Yeah.
00:11:46
Speaker
But I don't think that should be seen as a mark against the Sounders. Now, people can be frustrated at all they want. But the reality was that Obed took control of this transfer. He made it very clear that he was not just willing to go to the highest bidder, that he wanted a certain caliber of team that he wanted to go to. And as a result of that, that was invariably going to change the the fee that he got.
00:12:08
Speaker
And he was even willing, as we've talked about, he was perfectly willing to wait to become a free agent in order to ensure that he was able to go where he wanted to go or that he gave himself the best chance to go where he wanted to go.
00:12:20
Speaker
And so all of those factors were invariably going to drive down the transfer fee. So I think there's going to probably be a lot of focus on what the transfer fee ends up being. And I guess my point here is I think that's a little missing the mark. I think that's not really understanding. Agreed.
00:12:36
Speaker
the challenges that the Sounders went into in terms of maximizing their payday. Now, the good news is that it looks like they're going to probably have a big sell on percentage on the tail end of this. Of course, who knows if Obed just plays out his whole career in, in Atletico and and it that ends up being ah not a big deal, but if they can get three to 5 million on the front ah end of this deal, I think it has to be considered a pretty, pretty good bit of business.
00:13:03
Speaker
And that's the mark, right? I mean, we don't think that this move, and obviously just guessing at this point, will go beyond the $6 million mark. that That's as top as I saw I actually thought because it is...
00:13:18
Speaker
athletico when it's not Villarreal or Getafe or one of those smaller teams that maybe need to bring in more to the table than the brand, than the name, than the coach. Like, you know, playing under a guy like Simeone makes a big difference on, you know, how much you're willing to give because you're like, hey, man, look, I'm going to give you $4 million, but your guy's going to be playing with... Simeone and all these great players and all of this history, right? Los Colchoneros are well known to be, you know, one of the three teams in La Liga that have any chance of doing anything at all every year. So because it is Atletico, I do think that they're probably under that $6 million dollars mark. So my guess is between four, five, like you mentioned, maybe more likely four.
00:14:05
Speaker
But at the same time, because of the time clock that was on because of the way the negotiations for a potential extension were headed and the contingency plan that the Sounders had to essentially let go of of Obed, ah I think that the Sounders should get a lot of credit for a masterful move to...
00:14:33
Speaker
get everybody a win. Get, Ovid Barger's a huge win for his career. Get themselves a win by getting a transfer fee. And and in addition to that,
00:14:46
Speaker
The market component that it is making a deal with a team like Atletico, which puts the Sounders at this other level where young players are going to look into this deal and say, wow, look, the Sounders got Ovid to move on to a team like Atletico. I would love to play for a team like the Sounders. So it it does create this optic that both you and I constantly talk about, which is the branding of the Sounders. It's not just an elite team and nonetheless as a great organization. But now, and I'm not saying they're going to be looked at as a selling team, but as a team that has the ability to sell a player like that. Thank you for listening to the Sounder at Heart Podcast Network, which now includes Nos Adietes, Loving Scorchers, and The Cooler Guild. Although this podcast is free, it's only made possible through our paid subscribers. Plans start as low as $30 a year and allow us to remain independent and mostly ad-free. Subscribers get access to all our written and podcast content, including a full text RSS feed and a mostly ad free podcast feed that includes every show in one spot. If you really like what we're doing though, I'd encourage you to sign up at our higher tiers, which include all sorts of various perks. The most popular of those is our members only discord or the real Sounders sickos hang out. I know I've called this group the smartest, funniest and best informed Sounders fans in the world, but it's more than the rough equivalent of a Sounders Mensa meeting. Discord is where we make things happen. Like, for real. You know the promotion the Sounders ran that offered fans the opportunity to trade in their messy jersey for a Paul Rothrock one? That originated in our community. You'll not only be the first to know about stuff, but you also have a semi-direct line to the movers and shakers at the Sounders organization. If you want to be one of the totally normal people who occupy the Sounder at Heart Discord, just become a supporter of Sounder at Heart. Anyway, thanks for listening, and go Durs.
00:16:39
Speaker
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Vargas's Move to Atletico Madrid
00:17:35
Speaker
Hacks and Ferments is a proud sponsor of that Sounder at Heart podcast network.
00:17:41
Speaker
When I think the other thing you have to, you have to consider here is that the number of players who have moved from MLS, not into just one of the big five European leagues, but one of the big teams in those big European leagues, you know, we're talking about,
00:17:56
Speaker
you know, uh, Atletico Madrid, Chelsea, uh, Bayern Munich, you know, these types of teams, right. And the reality is that there's just not that many examples of players going from MLS to a team of Atletico Madrid's caliber. You know, you can go back to Alfonso Davies, probably the best example. He moved from the white caps to Bayern Munich and everyone was saying, well, that's fine and good, but he's never actually going play for Bayern. Now he's probably the best left back in the world.
00:18:24
Speaker
ah but then there was, and then there was, you know, less high profile moves, but Matt Miyazaga, for instance, went from New York Red Bulls to Chelsea. And then other than that, I'm really struggling to think of players who moved from MLS to teams of the caliber of Atletico Madrid. Obviously, you know, you just had Alex Freeman move to Villarreal, but Villarreal and Atletico, there's levels of difference in terms of their consistency. Now, Villarreal is a very good team. i don't want to diminish them, but Atletico Madrid tends to play in a different type of pool.
00:19:01
Speaker
They are almost always in contention for a top three spot in Spain and every now and then even contend for ah championship. ah And they're, they've done it over a long period of time. I don't, maybe I'm maybe and um now I'm talking myself.
00:19:15
Speaker
Am I under playing Villarreal in this? Or do you think, is it fair to say that? No, no, you said it correctly though. Don't, yeah, no, no, no, don't doubt yourself, baby. No, that's, Okay, okay. Yeah, there are tiers and tiers go depending on the league. And yeah, Villarreal is not in that level of top tier teams. I mean, it's as simple as that. They're a good quality club and it is great to get to a team like that, a team like Sevilla. That's also another very interesting team many of times. But at the same time, they're just not in that level. I guess, you know, a guy like John Haller-Duran going to Aston Villa would be another one that was decent. But that's another one that they're not at that top tier of the Chelsea's and the Manchester City's and the Manchester United's. If I'm not mistaken, didn't sack Stefano. So kind of went to Chelsea, but never played for Chelsea. Yeah, he went Manchester City. Oh, there Manchester City. And Gaga Selena went to Chelsea. So there are, you know, there's definitely a few examples. Obviously, we're probably skipping over Kevin Sullivan going to Manchester City as well.
00:20:22
Speaker
But again, ah the number of players who have made moves like this is really, really small. And, and it's usually not for the biggest fee, you know, Alfonso Davies is again, maybe the outlier and all that, but most of these players move to bigger teams sort of as a, you know, like on a diminished fee, like what is happening here with, with ah Obed Burgess. And I have to say, as soon as that Letico Madrid became interested the,
00:20:51
Speaker
in Vargas, the Sounders ability to negotiate probably went from, you know, a little bit to almost nothing because there was no way that Obed Vargas was going to let the Sounders get in the way of him going to Atletico, right? Like that, i well yeah we have not done, at least I have not any done any reporting specifically on that, but I can only imagine what his, you know, the the Sounders position once it be, once Atletico Madrid is calling up, it's like, no no, no, no, this there's, we're working this out.
00:21:21
Speaker
Absolutely. and And this happened and developed extremely fast. I mean, this was a matter of days that they got everything wrapped up and together. Now the interest from Atletico Madrid, we had reported before on it. I mean, they they they liked the player, they understood it, but there's a difference between being interested in a player and and having an offer on the table. And as we said on Friday in our show,
00:21:46
Speaker
As of the the the day before and a couple of days before, there was nothing on the table. There was literally no true offer on the table. So this happened very quickly. i do think that it was a a moment where All of it was starting to link up and then all of a sudden things are moving and you're getting guys going and and he gets done. So um it does talk about the desire that Atletico de Madrid had in at an obit. And to to what we just talked about, a lot of big clubs...
00:22:20
Speaker
do this sort of thing. they'll They'll get a prospect, they'll bring him on, and because a lot of times there isn't any room in those main rosters, they'll loan that player out, and it's up to the player to perform in those other places and make their case to go back to the team. So I have all the confidence in the world that Obed Vargas, regardless of whatever team he's loaned to, is going to perform, is going to get minutes, is going to...
00:22:48
Speaker
fitting well with the league because i think La Liga fits very well to his skill set. And this is something that I've even said about Christian Roldan at one point in his career.
00:22:59
Speaker
And so to me, i have a high confidence level that that happens, but it's not... a guaranteed, I'll tell you that. I've seen prospects, specifically from Columbia, go to teams like Manchester City and then be loaned out to another team and never make it to that squad. And we just talked about Zach Steffen and we just talked about other you know players that they they they seem to be a prospect, but they never make it. So that that part is still...
00:23:26
Speaker
needs to be determined and see how that now works for, for orbit. I think that he has all the quality in the world to do so. But it's going to be interesting how he plays out and how much time he does pay in, a well Madrid. And another thing that could happen is decides to keep them.
00:23:44
Speaker
Yeah. Well, i just want to interject here. Literally since we started recording, it all of a sudden there's all this reporting that he's staying with that political that he's actually going to go there and, and stay with that political, which is like literally like these, these, like the, the timestamps on these stories are literally, uh, these posts are like, since we started recording, but yeah, yo burlow is getting ready to close right. Right. Yeah. I guess that's a good point.
00:24:12
Speaker
Uh, and that's probably a big part of it, but yeah, I mean that, and it'll be interesting. i think now what becomes interesting This is what now becomes interesting is how this impacts his ability to get into the the World Cup.
00:24:26
Speaker
Now, one of the things that we've heard or one of the things that's been reported is that Mexico is interested in Obed more for his future potential than they are for his contributions at this World Cup. So maybe just being with Atletico is enough to get him into the into the World Cup squad.
00:24:44
Speaker
But I can see how maybe this does have some impact on on that, because if you i I don't know, Tim Foss, I got to say, has been pretty consistent in his belief that just looking at Atletico's roster, he thought it was there was a good chance that he might stay there because they don't have quite as much depth as it may seem.
00:25:04
Speaker
But it's got to be like, to me, it's just an uphill battle for a guy, a 20 year old midfielder coming from MLS to come into a club like Atletico at mid season and get minutes.
00:25:17
Speaker
I, you know, I certainly hope that he can, he can do that because I, I am going to be very intrigued, but don't know. Do you, what do you take from that, that, that it looks like he's going to stay? You think it's just a matter of time that time sort of ran out on it?
00:25:30
Speaker
Yes, I do. I absolutely think that is a matter of um not finding a suitor right off the bat. As I mentioned, there was, you know, question marks about Saltavigo. It halffe was also in in in the conversation. But with with the amount of time and then what that loan would look like, making those calls, I mean, it does take a lot of effort to get something in line. I would disagree with the fact that there isn't enough of a... um of depth there for Atletico de Madrid, but I mean sure, I mean i do I believe that he could go in here and get some minutes um you know in terms of being a rotational player around Johnny Cardoso or around Barrios or around Koke, who's on his goodbye tour? I mean, you know, maybe but you know Atletico Madrid just paid 30 million for Cardoso and Coke is still a guy that you want in the big moments at 34 years old. ah You saw him playing here in the Club World Cup and he just has a different level of pedigree. And Bottas is a guy that Simona likes a whole lot.
00:26:37
Speaker
um So, you know, there is some players that that have already been consistent for it. But we'll we'll see. I mean, maybe he gets there and he can ah get some minutes and press and ah pick up a spot.
00:26:51
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it's a, it's a pretty big development. If he's going to stay at the Atletico, that does give me a little bit of hope that maybe there's ah a little bit more in the fee here because it might suggest that Atletico was really keen on i'm getting them now, as opposed to waiting.
Future Prospects for Vargas and Sounders
00:27:09
Speaker
And I have, you know, I, don't want to get too much into this, but i have always thought that it made sense for someone to try to get him. If not,
00:27:18
Speaker
not necessarily to get him into camp right away, but to at least be able to bring him in in the summer always made a lot of sense to me. i think this is a great move. I think this is, i think that's sort of my takeaway. And again, until we know all the details, it's hard to give a full assessment, but where we sit right now, it looks like the Sounders are going to get some sort of fee. They're going to get some sort of sell on.
00:27:42
Speaker
Oh, their their brand is improved. They've shown that they can push a player into La Liga. Obed is with the club that he has dreamed about playing for his, essentially most of his soccer playing life. He's going to be playing in La Liga.
00:27:59
Speaker
He is put himself in a strong position to make the world cup. And then Atletico is getting a nice young player who has real upside. And that's something that we've been saying all along is the upside that Obed has shown, i think has sometimes been undervalued because we don't necessarily see it every single, we don't see him scoring a bunch of goals or, or picking up a bunch of assists, but he understands the game so well.
00:28:25
Speaker
I wouldn't be at all surprised if he transitions relatively smoothly into a high level. So all in all, it looks, it looks pretty good. I guess we may as well spend a little bit of time before we get out of here, talking about how the Sounders are going to replace Obed.
00:28:40
Speaker
And I think for the short term, the replacement is already on the roster. It's going to be most likely Hassani Dotson. And if not Hassani Dotson, what a Nikola Pekovic or Snyder Brunel.
00:28:51
Speaker
I actually feel pretty good about the Sounders depth in central midfield. They don't necessarily have a... obvious backup to Christian Roldan, but they didn't really have an obvious backup to Christian Roldan before.
00:29:03
Speaker
So that doesn't really change anything. And I like the the talent that they've assembled in that, in that midfield spot. And I don't think losing Obed should be a significant step back for them.
00:29:16
Speaker
No. and And that's credit to the roster build. That's credit to, you The talent evaluation from a guy like Sean Henderson to the understanding of getting good deals like Craig Weibold, the Nikola Petrovic move was a low risk, high reward, as we had mentioned. Hassani Dodson for everything I hear has looked like a guy that is hard-nosed into the ground and has that Bryant-Smetzer feel to the midfield.
00:29:47
Speaker
Snyder-Burnel is a guy that continues to pop up in every single conversation I have with people. And so, you know, there is a lot of ways that, as I've mentioned before, collectively, you can replace what Obed Vargas provided. Now, that doesn't mean that that ceiling is going to be as high or that but there's going to be as high, but it does give you a very good floor area.
00:30:13
Speaker
on to how to move on and assess. And that's important and and assess because by the summer window, now you're going to be able to figure out, look, this is the way this worked out. These are the players that shine, that did not shine. This is what we've thought about, you know, Petsovic so far. This is what we've thought about Hassani so far. And then you can make a decision on whether you need to go out there and replace them, add depth there or, you do whatever you want. So I do feel like the centers are in a good position to once again, hit the floor running, even with Obert Bargases move, because that was the expectation, right? We, we, we set it in the show. We set it in every show that the likelihood that Obert Bargases is with the Sounders at the beginning of the season is low. And, and that, that is what it was. Right. I mean, and and now we're here and the Sounders knew about it and they prepared for it.
00:31:07
Speaker
Absolutely. No, I think that this is the sounders did their homework. I think they did a good job of preparing for this possibility. You know, I think the, the acquisition of Nikola Petkovich at when it was made felt a little, you know, potentially redundant, but I think in time it was born out to be ah very smart move.
00:31:28
Speaker
I think the Hassani Dodson move also clearly made a lot of sense in hindsight. ah And the Snyder Brunel now has the, the freedom to develop in a much more natural way. Like they don't need center Brunel to come out and be playing every day.
00:31:46
Speaker
They can, they can let him earn minutes because they have Hassani Dotson who should be the starter right now. They have Nikola Petkovich who should be the top option off the bench. And if anything you get out of, out of, uh,
00:32:03
Speaker
Snyder Brunel should be a bonus. And I think that's a, that's a great position to be in And, you know, I, I don't think that the Sounders have any clear, obvious needs right now. I will say that one of the other things is that they don't have, this doesn't do much to free up their, their flexibility because Obed occupied a a secondary, what, what do they call it? A,
00:32:29
Speaker
a secondary roster spot. Why am I blanking on what they actually call those? But he doesn't, he's not on the senior roster. Right. Yeah. And so they they can't really replace, they they can't go out and and sign another senior player. But I don't think that's necessarily a huge problem. Again, I think that they are, i think this is like this is, they're in a great position right now. I feel very good about what the Sounders have done.
00:32:52
Speaker
Again, even without knowing all the details. And, you know, in time, we'll find out really how good of a move this was. But they do have a bunch more, they should have a bunch more flexibility in terms of general allocation money.
00:33:05
Speaker
as long as it was at least $3 million, dollars they'll be able to max that out in terms of what that's important. that's, that was sort of a big deal. So, you know, they, they don't necessarily have a whole bunch of more money, at least as far as we know, go out and make a big foreign signing, but,
00:33:24
Speaker
Look, I don't know how likely they were to do that anyway. I mean, that's sort of been, that's been the problem that they haven't been getting the budget to go out and make foreign signings. And, you know, and just to kind of harp on an old thing that we've talked about a lot, I don't put that on on Craig as much as I put that on ownership's unwillingness to write big checks. And and as long as as long as the the checks are not being written with big numbers at the end of them,
00:33:51
Speaker
it's going to be tough to, it's going be tough to, to make a foreign signing. And that's, you know, in the meantime, this is the kind of business that the Sounders need to be doing. And hopefully ah those purse strings get loosened a little bit in time.
00:34:05
Speaker
Yeah. and And again, I love the fact that, you know, as we, I think I made it in my first post when um the news of a Whitbargis came out, the Sounders had a,
00:34:17
Speaker
a list of things that they needed to get out of this deal too. And it sounds like they got everything that they, they wanted. So that's, again, that's credit to, to Craig Weibel who, you know, we criticize when he needs to be criticized, but I think that he's been absolved of, of any issues that not making this deal by the end of this transfer window would have caught. So yeah credit to, to him and the organization for also protecting themselves by getting a good sell on fee, but getting the, the timings that they wanted by making sure that their guy was taken care of. So yeah, man, it's a, it's a good, it's a good move. I find it hard to, for anybody to, to really question the, the the end product here, the the end move. But I think you're right.
00:35:04
Speaker
If that, fee or that number comes out and it's not what people believe, that that's going to open up to some debate and some criticism. But at the end of the day, I do feel like this was best case scenario for all involved.
00:35:19
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, let's, ah let's put a cap in that. I do have to get ready to to get out here and go to Spain, which I'm sure as soon as I get on a plane is when everything will officially break. But ah in the meantime, thanks for doing this, Nico. I think it was good for us to get on the record here. And the next time I talk to you, it will probably be,
00:35:38
Speaker
ah From Spain, me and Noah are planning on doing some recording while we're over there. ah But Nico, you can obviously follow him, ElRoloNW on Blue Sky, Soccer down here on YouTube. He was just on Lobbing Scorchers as well.
00:35:54
Speaker
Thanks for doing this. I'm Jeremiah Shan. This is No Sarriete as part of the Sounder Heart Podcast Network. And we'll see you next time.
00:36:31
Speaker
Let's go at Sounders.