Tuesday, March 08, 2016

Sporting Announce Rubio Loan Deal

Sporting KC today made official the news that came out last week during the media event at No Other Pub, that the club had acquired Chilean striker, Diego Rubio as a young designated player. The updated information on the move is that Rubio will be on loan to Sporting from Spanish club, Real Valladolid. Rubio has appeared 14 times for the club so far this season in Spain where the club sits in mid-table in the country's second division.

The loan is only through the end of June, and contains an option for Sporting KC to purchase his contract outright. It's interesting that the loan is only through June 30, but in a way it also makes sense if Valladolid really wants to move him, their primary window in the summer is a much better market for them. So KC will be on a short time window of deciding if they want to keep the Chilean. Of course it could work out like the Philadelphia Union's deal with Fernardo Aristeguieta, who was loaned for only a couple months, but ended up having it extended for the whole MLS season.

As a whole though, I like the idea of a loan move for Rubio, and has the option to purchase if KC is that interested and if he does well. It's a move with a smaller risk, because if he doesn't impress you aren't stuck with him on a designated player contract for an extended period of time. Similar to when KC brought Jeferson in near mid-season of the 2011 season, KC will get to try before they buy.

Rubio has had some success scoring; he's produced 37 goals and 15 assists in his professional career so far with six different clubs. He's seemed to struggle to get continuous time with the clubs he's signed for. It also appears that he may have left his original professional club in Chile, Colo Colo too early for the bright lights of Europe. Still, he has had some success and has even earned some call ups to the Chilean national team.

His addition will provide Dom Dwyer with some support, and will probably at least give the illusion that there is the chance of a goal coming from the bench if need be, something KC didn't have last year.

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