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Gerso was on Sporting KC’s radar for a long time before signing

The timing finally worked to sign the speedy winger

By Thad Bell
Os Belenenses v FC Porto - Premier League 2016/17
Gerso took time to land for SKC
Photo by Bruno Barros / DPI / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Landing Sporting Kansas City’s newest DP was not a quick or easy process. They had their eye on Gerso Fernandes for some time.

“Kerry (Zavagnin) and our scout in Portugal identified him about a year or two ago and he was on our depth chart for some time,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes explained. “The problem was it was at a time where there was no way for us to do a deal and the timing became right and we were able to get it done.”

Vermes and his staff have an ever changing list of players they are tracking that they think would be a good fit. When players leave or they need to be replaced, SKC’s staff look to this depth chart to determine who they can bring in.

Not an easy process as it is a constantly shifting target. Need a winger? Go to the list and try to work out who can be brought in and through which mechanism.

Perhaps a trade like how they acquired Brad Davis last season. Or through free agency as in the case of Justin Mapp. Or in this case, find a moment where the roster spot, the salary cap and probably Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) availability all converge to land a new winger for Sporting KC.

This was not a case of having just seen some great highlight videos either. “We saw him live a couple of times,” Vermes stated. “We have a scout that has probably seen him, oh, my gosh, probably 50 times. So we've seen the guy quite often.”

Vermes still looking to add players

Ghana league MVP Latif Blessing has been a target of Sporting Kansas City and could be announced as early as next week if the deal goes through as expected. Vermes did not mention the 19 year old attacker by name but did state they were still looking to add players.

“We still have a couple other players that we are working on in different positions on the field. I think we are getting closer to be honest,” Vermes said.

There have been years where Sporting KC was shopping but did not land very many of their targets but Vermes seems to feel that is not the case this year. “I would say it is going better than some other times, getting closer on a couple guys. Hopefully we will have some announcements in the next couple weeks.” 

Vermes did confirm that he would be a Designated Player (DP). Gerso will be a maximum budget charge of $480,625 (unless they buy that down). Problem is Sporting KC already has three DP’s and a player or two that could be DP’s but have had their salary bought down through TAM or GAM (General Allocation Money).

Roger Espinoza, Graham Zusi and Diego Rubio are currently DP’s. At least Matt Besler, Dom Dwyer and probably Benny Feilhaber are all in the DP range but have had their contracts bought down already so they do not have to be carried as DP’s.

In order to add Gerso Fernandes, Vermes will need to buy down one of his existing DP’s. “Our DPs are in very good ranges in regards to TAM, so we have the ability to do that,” Vermes stated.

“We haven’t done it yet. We’ll do it as we get closer to the compliance date, which is in March,” Vermes added. “We have the luxury to do it on multiple guys.”

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