The Portland Timbers selected attacking player Darlington Nagbe with their first pick — second overall — in Thursday’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
College soccer’s Hermann Trophy winner as the national player of the year this season, Nagbe had seven goals and 13 assists as a junior in helping Akron win its first national championship.
Considered a dynamic offensive talent with speed who plays midfield and forward, Nagbe fell to Portland when the Vancouver Whitecaps selected 17-year-old Omar Salgado of the U.S. under-20 national team with the first overall pick.
Timbers technical director Gavin Wilkinson called the draft a great success. He said he is thrilled to land the player the Timbers had rated at the top of their list in Nagbe. And Wilkinson called the acquisition through trades of an extra foreign slot and more allocation money critical to the franchise’s plan.
Timbers head coach John Spencer called Nagbe “a natural born soccer player” who brings unique versatility as a young player who can play any position in midfielld and also move up front.
“It’s fantastic,” Spencer said about landing Nagbe. “The kid’s a fantastic soccer player.”
Nagbe is 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds and 20 years old. He is one of 10 Generation Adidas players this year — meaning his salary will be paid by MLS and will not count against the Timbers salary cap.
The Timbers second pick, No. 22 overall, was Chris Taylor, a 6-foot-1, 160-pound left back who played college soccer for Tulsa. Spencer said Taylor had a very strong showing at this week’s combine for potential draftees.
Barring trades, the Timbers have no more picks today. Earlier, they swapped picks with Seattle then traded away the No. 11 overall pick to Houston for allocation money and a foreign roster slot. Allocation money is essentially extra money to pay players above the league salary cap.
