Mikael Silvestre no longer in Seattle Sounders camp

TUCSON, Ariz. – Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has left Seattle Sounders training camp, his stay with the team lasting less than a week.

Sounders manager Sigi Schmid was quick to point out Wednesday that Seattle owns his discovery rights, which means they would require compensation should Portland (with whom the former Manchester United veteran trained recently) or anyone else want to sign him.

Schmid said there was no doubt Sivestre, at 35, has the ability to play in MLS. It’s just a matter of making the numbers work for a man who would presumably be at or near a Designated Player salary. And that’s a lot to pay a center back in MLS.

I tried to get Schmid to give some kind of odds that Silvestre would play in MLS this year; he wasn’t biting.

Arrival into Sounders camp of former Liverpool defender Djimi Traoré probably makes Silvestre’s signing far less likely. Traoré, most recently seen in spot duty at Olympique Marseille, is 32.

But we can certainly expect Seattle to make some move on a center back. Patrick Ianni’s injury means the team could go into its March 2 opener with utility defender Zach Scott as Jhon Kennedy Hurtado’s central defensive partner. That’s a risk for a team that looks so solid in goal, in midfield and at striker.