The Portland Timbers bolstered their attacking front on Monday.
The club announced they’ve acquired Argentinian forward Brian Fernandez from Liga MX side Necaxa. Portland used Targeted Allocation Money to lower the budget charge of Lucas Melano, allowing Fernandez to occupy a DP slot.
“We are delighted to sign a player of Brian Fernandez’s caliber, at a stage in his career where we feel he is already a proven player yet still has best years in front of him and room to grow as a player,” Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson said.
“Brian has demonstrated the ability to overcome adversity during his career and his commitment to the game, his family and his belief in his ability has helped him develop into an exciting, highly skilled attacking threat with very good clubs in multiple leagues.”
Fernandez, 25, joined Necaxa in July 2018 and scored a team-high 18 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions. In the 2019 Liga MX Clausura, Fernandez scored 12 goals in 15 appearances.
He has also seen time with Defensa y Justicia, Racing Club, Sarmiento, Metz, and Union La Calera. Fernandez has yet to be capped by the Argentina National Team.
“Brian is a player who possesses many different attacking qualities that can cause issues for the opposition,” Timbers head coach Giovani Savarese said. “He has shown the ability to unlock defenses and score goals in a variety of ways throughout his career, and, while we view him as a forward with our immediate group, his versatility, and ability to play in different positions and systems give us further tactical flexibility and options.”
The Timbers travel to face the Vancouver Whitecaps on Friday.
The quote from the Timbers is that he is a proven player, but has his best years ahead of him. But then nowhere does it say how old he is so we can judge how many years he has in front of him. FYI, I looked it up and he is 24 and will be 25 in September. Poor journalism when this important aspect is left out.
Agreed. I was looking for that same basic information. Also, a well traveled player who’s only in his mid-20’s sounds like trouble (see Adu, Freddy…).