By DAN KARELL
Kenny Cooper is headed back to the Pacific Northwest. Only this time, he’ll be wearing the Rave Green.
The Seattle Sounders added to their already stacked group of forwards with the acquisition of Cooper’s signing rights and allocation money from FC Dallas in exchange for Adam Moffatt on Friday. If Cooper does sign with the Sounders, it will be his fourth new team in four years since returning to Major League Soccer in 2011 with the Sounders arch-rivals, the Portland Timbers.
Cooper was made available after failing to come to terms with FC Dallas on a new contract and then opting out of the 2013 Re-Entry Draft prior to Wednesday’s deadline. The 29-year-old struggled in his return to Dallas, scoring just six goals and adding one assist in 31 games. Moffatt meanwhile returns to Texas just three months after the Sounders acquired the veteran midfielder from the Houston Dynamo.
Assuming they can sign him, Cooper would join the likes of Obafemi Martins, Clint Dempsey, Lamar Neagle, and, for the moment at least, Eddie Johnson as options in the Sounders front line, instantly giving them one of the most lethal and experienced groups in MLS.
Last season, Cooper earned a base salary of $325,000, which is one of the reasons that he was dealt away from the New York Red Bulls in the prior offseason. The Sounders will hope that Cooper can rediscover his goal-scoring form. He scored 18 goals in 2012 with the Red Bulls.
Moffat is a solid acquisition for FC Dallas, bringing 116 MLS regular season appearances and a hard-nosed attitude in central midfield that helped lead the Dynamo to two consecutive MLS Cup final appearances.
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What do you think of this move? Impressed with the Sounders’ potential forwards for next season? Expect Cooper to sign with the club? What does this move mean for Eddie Johnson?
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