Sporting KC Scouting Alajuelense Center Back and Striker

The 2023 season is just around the corner and the center back signings have been very low key. Sporting KC have added second round pick Chris Rindov and Robert Castellanos who mostly has played lower division soccer. It’s left many fans and pundits craving a bigger move at the position. It’s left us clinging to even the slightest rumor.

Now, we’re following where Brian Bliss has shown up scouting players. Two reports came out of Costa Rica that Bliss was at a game scouting center back Alexis Gamboa and a single report mentioning he was also watching striker Andres Gomez.

Obviously, there are numerous scouting trips by coaches, officials and scouts throughout a calendar year. That said, let's take a peek at these two players. Center back is obviously a position of need, and third striker is a position that’s been mentioned throughout the offseason.

Alexis Gamboa - CB

Gamboa will be 24 in March and according to Transfermarkt is under contract through the end of 2024, meaning a transfer fee would likely be needed to pry him free early. He’s another left-footed CB but has experience playing on both sides of a back two.

He has two appearances for the Costa Rican U23 national team and has played for a smattering of clubs at his young age. He came up in the Santos de Guapiles (Costa Rica) youth system before joining Alajuelense (Costa Rica) with a loan stint to SK Breveren in the Belgian second division.

He has 138 appearances for nearly 11,000 minutes so he would come in with a lot more experience than everyone on the roster at CB not named Andreu Fontas.

Andres Gomez - CF

Gomez is a 22-year-old with experience primarily at center forward but also at left wing. He is also under contract through the end of 2024. He’s spent his entire career in Costa Rica having played for the Cartagines U17 team before moving to Guadalupe FC. From there he was sold to Alajuelense and loaned back to Guadalupe for a spell.

In his career he has 129 appearances for just 6,395 minutes, so he’s clearly subbing off (or on) a fair amount. In that time, he has 12 goals and four assists, all of them for Guadalupe.

The roster is nearly full and it’s unlikely that either of these moves come to fruition, but it’s still interesting to have some insight. They could be targets further down the road when they are out of contract or even much sooner in the summer transfer window for Sporting Kansas City if those needs remain.