The Portland Timbers were already among the teams that got better on MLS draft day, so it's understandable that some potentially bigger news went largely unnoticed: Kenny Cooper is on his way to Portland. There has yet to be an official announcement, but 1860 Munich's own website is reporting this as a done deal. Essentially overnight, the Timbers have gone from a team sorely lacking in MLS-quality strikers, to one that suddenly looks reasonably deep. Cooper will join a group of attacking players that will include No. 2 draft pick Darlington Nagbe and second division standouts Bright Dike and Eddie Johnson.
Kenny Cooper, Portland Timbers Look To Be Close To Deal
Cooper, though, is the player that gives that group an air of legitimacy. While he hasn't been particularly effective since going to Europe in 2009 (scoring just two goals in 19 matches), Cooper was one of the most effective strikers in MLS prior to the transfer. The American international scored 40 goals over 90 matches with FC Dallas, including 18 goals in 2008 upon returning from a broken leg that cost him more than half of the 2007 season. In limited United States National Team action, he has scored four goals in 10 matches.
The speculation is that Cooper could start alongside Nagbe and Dike in a three-forward attack. Dike would likely play in the middle with Cooper and Nagbe on the wings. In order to make such an attack work, though, the Timbers would still need to find a playmaking central midfielder, something that the team still appears to lack.
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