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Rumor: LAFC to sign Andy Najar?

Hey, he would fit an apparent need for the club.

By Alicia Rodriguez
RSC Anderlecht v Royal Charleroi SC - Jupiler Pro League Photo by Vincent Van Doornick/Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images

Is Andy Najar the latest reinforcement for Los Angeles Football Club? That’s the word from Belgian outlet DH Les Sports, which claims Najar is making the move right now.

The 26-year-old has been at Anderlecht since 2013, enjoying a long stretch of ups and downs there. Winning three league titles with the Mauves, Najar enjoyed stretches where he was a regular, punctuated by stretches where he was injured.

Najar has been a professional for a full decade, and if he were to join LAFC his career would come full circle in a sense, as he began life as a pro in 2010 with D.C. United, where he was a homegrown signing. MLS Rookie of the Year in his first campaign, Najar started out as a fleet-footed right winger before splitting duty as a right back by the time he was sold to Anderlecht, reportedly for $3 million. That skillset, capable of being involved in the attack and also with plenty of experience as a right back, would fit arguably LAFC’s biggest need at this point in the preseason, as they have only makeshift options behind Tristan Blackmon. Najar has the talent to actually push to start himself, if injuries haven’t sapped his skills in recent years.

It’s worth noting that Najar also has extensive experience on the international stage, as a full international for Honduras, but after fleeing that country as a boy he also knows the U.S. well having grown up here and reportedly has a green card.

Is this plausible? Yes. Is this move likely for LAFC? We’ll see. One possible obstacle is that Najar is on the MLS Allocation List (it’s long and complicated, here’s the full rundown) and LAFC currently sit 24th in the Allocation Ranking. What does this mean? If LAFC wants to get Najar, they’ll have to make a trade or two to get that top spot, and that will cost them something. It’s not an impossible scenario but it’s not exactly ideal, either, so we’ll see what happens.

What do you think? If Najar joins up, does that address the major concerns for LAFC heading into the season? Let’s chat in the comments below!