MLS Primary Transfer Window Closing Fast: Will Sporting KC make last minute moves?

April 15th will mark the day when the primary transfer window will close for Sporting Kansas City and the rest of MLS. Effectively shutting down all possible transfers, loans, or deals Sporting KC can make with other players currently under contract outside of America.

Last year Sporting KC signed French defender and now club talisman Aurelien Collin on the last day of the primary transfer window. However I was confused as to whether or not the signing would have been considered a "deadline day transfer" because of the situation at his former club Vitoría Futebol Clube. If he had been released by the Portuguese team before he signed it wouldn't of mattered when Sporting KC signed him because MLS clubs can negotiate and sign free agents when ever they would like to.

But, as the transfer deadline approaches this year, if Sporting KC would indeed like to buy good talent outside of US soil then they need to do it fast.

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I brought it up in my post about Graham Zusi the other day, if the attacking midfielder sustains a lengthy injury Sporting KC could be in a heap of trouble. The back-up behind Zusi at that position is paper-thin both in quality(as compared to Zusi) and quantity. I was also reminded the other day that there is no guarantee Zusi plays this well the entire year and if Sporting KC wanted other options at that position should Zusi's form dip they would be hard pressed to find a suitable replacement without looking outside of the US.

So now, as the deadline approaches, I am feeling slightly antsy when I look ahead and see that Sporting KC could potentially have 3 months until another chance comes around to buy more high-level talent over seas when the secondary window opens up. Especially if something happens to Zusi.

With buying players under contract outside of the US however, comes a transfer fee. Sporting KC can use their allocation money (or transfer budget as it's called in Europe) that they've received from numerous deals in recent years to splash some cash on a foreign player.

The problem with allocation money though is that as a fan it is nearly impossible to track how much Sporting KC has and how much they've spent. Per club policy Sporting KC never releases contract details or how much allocation money was received or lost in a specific transaction. Leaving fans with nothing more but their own thoughts and speculations.

One must look no further than the Omar Bravo transfer in December for an example. It is my understanding that Bravo had been signed on for multiple years to Sporting KC and when they sold him after being just a year into his contract to Cruz Azul they received allocation money from the Mexican club. Take into account the quality of a player such as Omar Bravo and the contract deal that was already in place between him and the club and I presume the transfer could have possibly been in the upper hundreds of thousands of dollars, maybe even breaking a million dollars. Heck, for all I know we could have received enough money to pay off the US' $57 trillion dollar debt and then some.

So, as April 15th rolls around the corner Sporting KC are faced with a decision, wait till late June to bring in overseas talent or hope that they can survive the next few months with what they have, and if the past few weeks are any indication, Sporting KC will be just fine.