The P-1 visa is still on its way, but confident that obstacle is perfunctory, Real Salt Lake has announced the signing of Argentina forward Sebastián Jaime. Terms of the deal were (of course) undisclosed, but as General Manager Garth Lagerwey confessed in the club’s statement, the former Union Española’s acquisition will provide some needed help in the absence of RSL’s first choice number nine.
“When we lost Alvaro Saborio for a long period of time we knew we had to consider all our attacking options,” said Lagerwey, whose team was dealt a blow when the Costa Rican international broke a metatarsal while preparing for the World Cup. “We had scouted Sebastian Jaime going back to 2012 and decided now was the right time to bring him in.”
News of the deal started to leak out earlier this week, with Chilean outlets reporting the 27-year-old had ceased training with Union. After helping the club to two trophies last season, Jaime had parlayed his 44 Primera División goals into a move north.
“We are excited to add a versatile player like Jaime who can comfortably play in either forward role in our system,” Lagerwey said, describing a player that sounds a little like another Argentine that used to inhabit Rio Tinto: Fabián Espíndola.
If Jeff Cassar can get Espíndola’s production out of Jaime, Real Salt Lake will have their bridge between now and Saborío’s late-season return. Even if Jaime takes some time to settle, RSL’s new attacker joins Robbie Findley, Olmes Garcia, João Plata, and Devon Sandoval to augment what was already enviable depth at the position.
