Weekend Rumors: Rapids interested in Ipswich’s Tommy Smith and Wolves’ Jack Price

It’s been a busy off-season for the Colorado Rapids, and after a quiet break during the holidays, the rumors are back in full swing. Here are the most recent:

Tommy Smith: The 27-year-old defender currently plays for Ipswich Town FC, a second-tier English Team that last played in the Premier League in the 2001-2002 season. Smith came up through the Ipswich youth system, and has a total of 251 starts and 17 substitute appearances, scoring 23 goals. He had four appearances with the England U-17 and U-18 teams, but holds dual nationality and has been a regular member of the New Zealand All Whites since 2010.

You can see his style of play here:

Jack Price: Earlier today, Stephen Goff tweeted that the Rapids were “in advanced talks” with Jack Price, a midfielder at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. (If that club sounds familiar, it’s where our very own Kevin Doyle played before coming to Colorado.) Goff describes him as a central midfielder, but it sounds like he’s more a defensive midfielder. Womp womp. The 25-year-old has had 107 appearances and two goals with the Wolves, who are also in the Championship, the second tier of the EPL.

Edgar Castillo: Word is that this is a done deal, it’s just a matter of time before the team announces it. I didn’t expect to hear anything until after the holidays and after Monterrey finished their season, so if this is in fact happening, we’ll likely get an official announcement soon.
UPDATE:

So we’re looking at (potentially) two international players, including one that is familiar with Hudson. I’m still not sure if it’s a good thing that Hudson is looking to bring in players that know his system or not, because we know that the All Whites weren’t exactly a power team. What do you think - will bringing in players that know his system be a good thing, or should Hudson be completely “starting over” with the Rapids?