The Portland Timbers have signed Argentine forward Lucas Melano from Argentine first-division side Lanus on Friday .
Melano joins the club as a designated player. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the Timbers did say that targeted allocation money was used to lower the budget charge of Fanendo Adi, which freed up the DP slot.
Timbers acquire Argentine Designated Player Lucas Melano. READ: http://t.co/incLKMWFQc #RCTID pic.twitter.com/luZIIzJaRS
- Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) July 17, 2015
"Melano is a player we've had our eye on for some time and we are extremely pleased to finally announce his addition," said Timbers coach Caleb Porter. "Lucas is a very exciting, dynamic player with pace and individual game-changing ability. His versatility to be able to play any of the front four positions in our system also gives us flexibility to mesh him with our other quality pieces.
"We feel confident Lucas will make an immediate impact on our goal production this season but will also continue to grow with the club and be a key fixture in MLS for years to come."
Since joining Lanus in 2013, the 22-year-old has made 42 league appearances with eight goals. The 6-foot-1 forward has scored a team-leading five goals in 14 games thus far in the 2015 Argentina first-division season. He helped the side to the 2013 Copa Sudamericana as one of tournament's leading scorers.
"This is player we tried to sign several years ago while he was at Belgrano and have followed him very closely ever since," said general manager Gavin Wilkinson. "The process in bringing him to Portland has been a lengthy and challenging one, as he was targeted by several European and Mexican clubs."