Pay attention: This time, a Seattle Sounders, Spain-based player rumor has some real legs

Here we go again.

I say that because Seattle has already been linked to a player out of Spain, but after a year of seeing another La Liga-based rumor bled until it wilted, we should approach this with a note of caution. The transfer of midfielder Joan Verdu from Espanyol got more traction in fantasy than real worlds. How do we know Javier Saviola’s rumored move won’t be the same?

First, the rumor: Saviola, a former Argentina international, is supposed to move to Seattle this summer. The 31-year-old former Barcelona and Real Madrid attacker just moved from Benfica to Málaga this summer and is second to only Isco in league goals for the club. Counting Champions League and Copa del Rey, Saviola has seven goals in 26 games, a relatively low ratio for a starting forward.

There are a couple of reasons this one makes more sense than Verdu. First, it’s being reported by TyC Sports in Argentina, a respected (though far from irreproachable source). Second, Saviola is out of contract in four months, having moved to Málaga on a one-year deal. Third, Saviola is at a place in his career where a move to Major League Soccer makes sense. Fourth, he fits a need, one that Seattle doesn’t appear to otherwise be filling. Finally, this one is being reported with confidence. Saviola’s supposedly set to be Seattle’s next Designated Player.

Almost none of those things were true for Verdu. Most of the Verdu reports were tenuous links that seemed to serve alternative club and agent purposes. Verdu’s contract also runs until this summer, meaning at the time rumors were most intense, he would have required a transfer fee. Still 29, a regular starter in midfield, and the team’s leading goal scorer (seven in 22 games), Verdu wouldn’t be short of options if he wanted to leave Espanyol. He’d also be moving to a team that has Ozzie Alonso, Brad Evans, Christian Tiffert and (relevant to how he could be used) Mauro Rosales.

So while there is a bit of de ja vu to this, there may always be a tedium to stories about Seattle’s open Designated Player spots. It’s an ambitious team with lots of money and (perhaps most importantly to this discussion) has its activities picked through with a fine-tooth comb. We’re going to constantly hear rumors surrounding the Sounders. Some will stick. Some won’t. Some make sense. Others don’t.

But whereas the Verdu rumor always seemed thin and never made complete sense, Saviola’s is the opposite. There’s a good source attaching an available player to a team with a need. It’s not difficult to see Saviola connecting with Eddie Johnson later this summer.

Sounders FC didn’t comment to local media about the speculation, so you’re just going to have to content yourself with highlights of Saviola’s Saturday goal against Athletic Bilbao, with the Andalusians winning 1-0 ahead of their mid-week, Champions League meeting against FC Porto: