A happy Thursday to you all; I hope the day finds you well. Our transfer window coverage continues today with a look at two moves — one that's apparently not happening and one that might be. We'll start with the one not happening.
Pablo Ruiz likely not headed to Colo-Colo
Despite a persistent rumor linking Pablo Ruiz to Colo-Colo — one repeated somewhat widely in Chilean media — that particular deal appears to be off. Some discussion has centered around Colo-Colo dropping their bid, then reviving it shortly after, only to have it rebuffed; whether any of that is true, the interest appears to have been genuine.
It's not clear if he'll stay at Real Salt Lake, and I'm still uncertain how the midfield works with him in it — at least with Diego Luna in a floating attacking role, with Ruiz's specialty being a bit more focused on finding wingers high up the pitch, rather than connecting players in possession.
Academy graduate Diego Rocio targeted by Club America for loan, potential purchase
Having signed Diego Rocio only recently to a first-team contract, it appears he could be off already: Club America have targeted him for a loan move, according to reports in Mexico. Real Salt Lake acquired the homegrown rights to Rocio in May, at which time he signed a deal to play with Real Monarchs in 2025 before a first-team deal kicked in. The move, per the reports (all unsourced on social media, as is the way with soccer these days) would put Rocio at the Mexican side on a year-long loan, and the club would hold a purchase option.
It's hard to have too many feelings about this one, as he has only just signed a first-team deal, and we've not seen him play. Hope it's a good move for the kid.
Zavier Gozo rumors heating up
The list of clubs keeping tabs on 18-year-old Zavier Gozo just keeps growing. That list now includes Aston Villa, Villareal, Brighton, Atletico Madrid and AS Monaco. Given the recent transfer of Seattle's Obed Vargas to Atletico, all of these clubs sort of make sense. I'd argue they're players at similar levels of talent, and we know that European clubs are regularly scouting MLS youngsters.
I'm not quite ready for Gozo to go, personally. I don't think we have to be excited about the financial aspect of any deal. We can be pleased for the kid getting a great deal, and we can be excited to see him grow on the international stage, but let's not pretend as fans that we must simply accept the reality of the situation and move on. The more we see a homegrown player at our stadium, the more we grow connected to their journey, and it's only natural to want to see them lead our club to glory. When we're deprived of that opportunity, it's only natural to feel a little aggrieved, however that may come out.
From a financial perspective, the allocation money is worth caring about, I suppose, but I find it difficult to believe the mega-rich folks who own football clubs these days couldn't just invest that money themselves, should they truly desire. And as we saw with the Andres Gomez sale, we often don't have strong reasons to believe that the club will either invest all of that money into players, or that they will invest successfully when given the opportunity.
Realistically, holding on to every talented young player is never going to happen. But as fans, we needn't live fully in reality — otherwise, we're not fans, we're just neutral observers, right?
Anyway, everything's pointing until after the World Cup for this move, which makes a fair bit of sense from a summer transfer window perspective, what with the European windows closed.
Diogo Goncalves lands at Turkish outfit Konyaspor
It didn't take long for Diogo Goncalves to find his new club, as he's been announced as a new signing at the Turkish club Konyaspor, who currently sit 14th in the Süper Lig. One would assume that such a move was likely in progress before the announcement of his release — it seems most likely to me that Goncalves and the club came to an understanding about his future.
While I'm not upset by his departure, it does lead one to wonder: How did it come to this? How did he go from a DP roster slot to a quiet departure?
Are RSL's additions and subtractions enough for a successful 2026?
Wasatch Soccer Sentinel
