After dispatching one of their promising young players till season’s end the Seattle Sounders turned their attention to San Diego Loyal. Hours before the MLS Primary Transfer deadline the Sounders loaned Danny Leyva to the Colorado Rapids till seasons in. For their willingness to loan one of their promising young players the Sounders received the Rapids Third Round pick in the 2025 MKS Super Draft and $92,000 in General Allocation Money ( GAM).
THE TIMING OF THE DEAL IS ODD
While a case can be made that the Sounders were presented an offer they could not refuse and time was running out. I find the timing of the deal peculiar. During his pre-conference with media on Tuesday head coach Brian Schmetzer was quoted saying he was told by General Manager Craig Waibel that Leyva was on his way to Colorado. Schmetzer planned to start Leyva on Wednesday when the Sounders host San Diego Loyal.
CONGESTED BUT IS IT NOT A LONG SEASON?
Yes, Colorado needed a promising midfielder and the Sounders according to Waibel have a glutton of talent at the midfield position with Joao Paulo, Alert Rusnak, Obed Vargas, and Josh Atencio. Paulo and Rusnak are two of the best in the league with Vargas and Atencio showing great potential. Why not create your future in the present with Leyva, Vargas, and Atencio? Waibel and Schmetzer both held the company line in saying Leyva needed minutes. Every talented player gets better with experience. Why not give that talented player the minutes at home?
POTENTIAL MOVES
During the winter Leyva was linked with a reported move to Liga MX but the deal never materialized. The Sounders have been open to moving Layva for quite a long time. While he is from Las Vegas Leyva is a product of the Sounders organization having played with the Tacoma Defiance and the first team. Leyva was part of the USA squad at the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup and is in contention to make the USA roster for next month’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.
WHAT IF HE BALLS OUT?
In fairness to Waible, the move was made to accelerate the timeline of Leyva being a starter in MLS. Because there is no option to buy the Rapids are scheduled to return Leyva at the end of the season. In the interim how much time will Vargas and Atencio get? Vargas has been involved in five Sounders games with two starts. Antecio has three starts in six games. If all three players are close to their potential at the end of the season will the Sounders bring Leyva back? Having a roster of talented players is every General Manager’s dream. The great ones find a way to move the organization forward by finding a way to keep talented players at their peak while finding a way to grow the young talent. The Leyva move is the first significant move by Waibel as General Manager outside of the Eber signing.
