By TATE STEINLAGE
When Oriol Rosell arrived at Sporting Kansas City two years ago, he was a very young midfielder still trying to establish himself as a professional player. After two seasons in the Sporting KC system, Rosell is returning to Europe a player in demand, one ready for the next significant step in his budding career.
Sporting KC has reached an agreement with Portuguese powerhouse Sporting CP for the transfer of Rosell, 21, for an undisclosed fee. Early reports Tuesday said that Rosell was in Lisbon to finalize the transfer, with the official release coming just a few hours later.
“Our idea is not to be a selling club by any means, but sometimes economics are what they are,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes told the Kansas City Star.
Rosell made 31 appearances in 2013 for Sporting KC in league play, starting in all 31 matches, scoring one goal and adding two assists as the main defensive midfielder for Vermes’ squad. In December, Rosell made his first international appearance for Catalonia in a 4-1 victory over the Cape Verde Islands.
Sporting Clube de Portugal finished second this year in the Liga ZON Sagres. The club will compete in the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League alongside league action.
As with all MLS transfers, Sporting KC will receive two-thirds of the Rosell transfer fee to use as allocation money for a number of actions including to sign players, re-sign current MLS players, and more.
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What do you make of the transfer? Good move by Sporting KC? Do you see the club making splashes this summer to make up for Rosell’s play?
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