Having struck gold with Diego Valeri, the Portland Timbers turned again to Lanus, Argentina, for a player they hope will pay big dividends.
On Friday the Timbers made official the acquisition of 22-year-old forward Lucas Melano. A speedy, 6-foot-1 attacker, Melano can play any position in the Timbers attack and gives the team a player who can create scoring chances on his own, according to coach Caleb Porter
“He’s another player that can change a game individually,” Porter said. “He’s very good running with the ball, creating for himself off the dribble. He’s got extreme athleticism and pace to stretch the back four (defenders) and threaten.”
Melano comes to Portland from Argentine first-division side Club Atletico Lanus — the same club that all-star midfielder Valeri was with before joining the Timbers. Melano will join Portland once the Major League Soccer receives his P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate.
It is not clear when Melano will arrive, but Porter and general manager Gavin Wilkinson on Friday both said they expect him soon — and that Melano will have an impact right away.
“We feel like he’ll come in and make an immediate impact for now,” Porter said. “I think he’ll help us now, but also be a player because of his age and upside that will continue to grow and get better. Hopefully he’ll be with us for years to come.”
One area Porter sees Melano improving is goal-scoring. For Lanus, Melano scored a team-leading five goals through 14 games this season. He scored eight goals in 42 Primera Division appearances for Lanus. Prior to joining Lanus, he scored seven goals in 44 games for Belgrano where he made his debut in March of 2012.
Porter said those totals aren’t the eye-popping statistics some might expect from a high-profile signing. But the coach said Melano has spent a lot of time playing on the wing, where players get fewer chances to score, and has the technical skill to be a dangerous scorer..
To add Melano, the Timbers used a new Major League Soccer mechanism called Target Allocation Money. The league is giving each club an extra $100,000 per year over the next five years to acquire or to retain players. The Timbers used the money to bring Fanendo Adi below Designated Player status. Melano, Valeri and Liam Ridgewell are the Timbers three allowed Designated Players whose salary is not limited by the league’s $3.49 million salary cap.
Wilkinson said teams in Europe and North America had interest in Melano. Reports indicated several Spanish clubs and at least one in Mexico had interest in Melano.
“With a player like this, I think it’s very satisfying not only for the league but for us as a club to show that we are moving in the right direction,” Wilkinson said. “When you look at the clubs that were also vying for this player, it’s quite a feather in our cap I think.”
According to a report by Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl, the Timbers are paying a $5 million transfer fee to Lunas to acquire Melano, and will pay him $1 million per season during a four-year contract.
According to the MLS Players Union, Ridgewell ($1 million) is the highest paid Timbers player. The players union on Thursday ratified the five-year collective bargaining agreement negotiated in March. On Friday the union released 2015 player salary information. Adi is slated to make $664,000 this year and Valeri $550,000.
Wilkinson said the Timbers were not focused on signing a young player, just on finding a player who fit their playing style. He compared this with the acquisition of Valeri, who joined the team at the start of 2013.
“When we signed Valeri he was fairly unknown to a lot of the American soccer fans, but worldwide was very, very well respected. Melano has attracted a lot of European clubs, and clubs in North America,” Wilkinson said.
While not as splashy as some recent MLS signings — Steven Gerard and Giovani Dos Santos in Los Angeles among them — the Timbers believe they found a player who will excel in Porter’s system
“We looked at players of all ages in various parts of the world and it came back to we think (Melano) would be a good partnership with the group of players that we have,” Wilkinson.
Porter has consistently used four defenders and two defensive midfielders, but the positioning of his attacking four can change game to game.
Adi, who leads the team with eight goals this season, and Maximilliano Urruti have alternated at striker. In attacking midfield and wing spots, Valeri, Darlington Nagbe, Gaston Fernandez, Rodney Wallace, Dairon Asprilla and Michael Nanchoff have seen action.
“One of the reasons we really like (Melano) is he’s versatile,” Porter said. “Because we have other good players, and the ability to mesh him with our other good players and pick a lineup and a game plan and a system that will fit (for a specific) game, we feel is a real positive.”
The addition of Melano gives the Timbers five players from Argentina, including Valeri, Fernandez, Urruti and defender Norberto Papratto.
Only four teams in MLS have scored fewer goals than Portland’s 22 entering the weekend. Certainly the injuries that kept Valeri and Will Johnson out of the lineup for the first third of the season can explain some of the Timbers struggles on offense. But the addition of Melano should ramp up the competition for playing time — and the number of playmakers who worry opposing defenses.
