Sounders part ways with Braudilio Rodrigues, who should replace him?

As confirmed by Sounders at Heart Portuguese-Guianese forward Braudílio Pina Rodrigues has been officially cut by the Seattle Sounders. There was speculation on this yesterday even. And with his great potential and great person I wish him the best somewhere else and I really hope he'll become great somewhere else. But looking at the Sounders roster now with us gaining one striker but now losing another we should address that the Sounders don't have depth at the striker spot. Only having both Danny Musovski and Paul Rothrock on our bench and they're both injured right now. So who could the Sounders get in the transfer market? That's what I found out today!

A couple of players we've talked about before in articles so we'll touch on them brief but those players are Enes Sail from FC Dallas and Lazar Jovanović from Red Star Belgrade. 18 year old Lazar Jovanovic currently sits on the bench at Serbia's best club ex champions league winners Red Star Belgrade a position many people in his country would want to be but he knows he's capable of more After doing so well in the u18s of the Serbian men's national team 4 goals and 1 assist in 8 appearances it's a mere statement of fact. Son of ex Serbian winger Milan Jovanović who played for Liverpool and played in the 2010 World Cup. Lazar signed his 1st pro contract in 2022 at the age of 15 years and 11 months he 1st went to play in the u17s where he scored 16 goals in 25 appearances showing his strong finishing potential. 11 goals in 9 appearances with the u19s followed. With such a amazing start to his youth career no wonder he got called up to the seniors where all his momentum came to a screeching halt. But he should be given a amazing shot with the Sounders, no question. Now Enes Sali is another MLS guy and 1 from FC Dallas, since we're so keen on buying from them would be the Romanian winger Enes Sali. Only 18, the only downside I see to this is that if FC Dallas is selling both Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira, it's very likely 1 of the reasons they're willing to do that is that they see Sali as a fitting replacement for 1 of em, probably Arriola considering the position. It says a lot that someone who's only played in MLS Next Pro and is of course so young has already snatched a senior cap for Romania. In 25 appearances in the 2024 MLS Next Pro season when he was 17, he had 13 total goal contributions, with 8 goals and 5 assists. He even scored a goal in the playoffs. The stated reason FC Dallas are so ready to depart with 2 key contributors is because they want to build around the style of their new coach. I don't know how well Sali fits with his style, but if there's any doubts, we could play on those and also get him on the yellow brick road to the Emerald City, along with Paul Arriola and Jesus Ferreira. Either way, coming to Seattle or not, he's 1 to look out for. And while I doubt FC Dallas would give us another attacker especially since I'm sure they see Sali as a replacement for either Arriola or Ferreira man it be funny if they did.

Another promising MLS bench player we can snag is Taylor Wolff from Real Salt Lake. The American at only 18 years old has shown promise but hasn't put it together in Mormon country yet. In 36 MLS appearances with Real Salt Lake from 2023-2024 he's scored 6 goals and had only 1 assist with 5 of those goals and the assist coming in 2023. No clue what happened in 2024 but with his young age and no major injuries I'm sure he has room to grow and the Sounders should take a chance on him. His defensive contribution for a offensive player his age is excellent plus his creativity with his strong dribbling makes him a valuable decoy and playmaker for any MLS offense now. If he works on his crossing and holding on to the ball he can be a elite level player in the MLS 1 day. We put him on the bench for a couple of years and develop behind Ferreira either when he goes to Europe like he said he wants to do, he could be set up to be his replacement. Or we can sell him too to some desperate MLS franchise and maybe sell him and Ferreira at the same time. Combine that money together to grab a major player from a foreign league like a older Rashford.

Another great option would be the ultra young and ultra talented Nimfasha Berchimas from Charlotte FC. The 16 year old Burundian-American has as you've guessed shown great talent even with how little pro soccer he's actually played so far. Last season in MLS NEXT Pro in 21 appearances he had 6 goals in 1,460 minutes of ball for the awesomely named Crown Legacy FC. Which doesn't sound too impressive until you realize he was a 15-16 year old playing against mostly pro athletes 4-5 years older than him or even older than that. That shows great potential and of course that makes him someone we should target. The question is if Charlotte FC is willing to let them go right now? Considering how young and talented he is probably not for a price that isn't overvalued right now. But if you're looking for young talents in the MLS, which the Sounders love focusing on you gotta mention him. Plus David Tepper does own that team and with how impulsive, stupid and arrogant he can be push the right buttons he could be willing to pull the trigger right now. Ask Panthers fans, it's very in character for him.

Now of course especially since cutting a Portuguese-Guianese striker it opens up a foreign player slot (even if we'll most likely use 1 on Kim Kee-Hee if I understand the transfer rules correctly) so we and the Sounders should look into foreign players and I've got the perfect 1 for the Sounders should consider. Weslley Patati is currently playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel and is a product of the prestigious Santos academy, the same team that produced Neymar and Pele. His time in Santos was a disappointment with only 2 goals and 1 assist in 13 appearances with them in 2024 in the second division of Brazil but he's doing excellent in Israel right now! In the Europa League he's been showing his potential for playmaking have 3 assists in 6 games a assist every other game. Plus did also scored a goal in the Europa League too. And the Ligat ha'Al which is Israel's top flight he's been showing off his potential for goal scoring. As in 17 appearances he's had 5 goals and a assist to go along with it. Plus like most Brazilian offensive players he has a talent for creating something from nothing and using that creativity to embarrass defends and put em flat on their butts. While Maccabi Tel Aviv may not be willing to sell such a recently acquired and valuable piece if they are he's worth taking a risk on to be a depth piece for a MLS team, including the RAVE Green. Thanks a bunch for reading!