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We were all a little worried that the Colorado Rapids might lose former Defender of the Year Axel Sjoberg in the MLS Expansion Draft. While there’s always the possibility that he could still get traded, there was an interesting turn of events when FC Cincinnati’s second pick was announced. They selected forward Kei Kamara and traded him to the Rapids for an international slot.
The 34-year-old spent last year with the Vancouver Whitecaps, appearing in 28 games (starting 24) and scoring 14 goals with 6 assists. Kamara was previously with New England Revolution, scoring 19 goals with 7 assists in his two seasons there. He was an MLS All-Star in 2015 when he scored a career-high 22 goals with the Columbus Crew.
The main concern with Kamara is that he is known for having a personality that can be somewhat difficult to manage, so it will be really interesting to see how that goes.
All in all, is this the young, up-and-coming striker that we’ve been waiting for? No. But is he a damn good player who is going to put the ball in the back of the net and score some goals? Yes.
I’ll take it.
UPDATE:
Told @keikamara has signed a two-year deal with the @ColoradoRapids.
— Andrew Wiebe (@andrew_wiebe) December 11, 2018
Pay cut from last year, but gets two years at TAM level. Rapids were looking for a proven goalscorer, and got one. Word is they'll play 4-4-2, currently looking for a second striker to play underneath Kei.