Fernando Gaibor - Recycling a Rumor
A couple of years ago, The Other Sheriff began skillfully, obsessively stalking Chris Henderson as the Sounders' Scout and jetsetter scoured leagues around the world in search of talent to improve the squad. One of The Other Sheriff's finest pieces of detective work was tracking Henderson as he scouted teams in Ecuador. He put together this excellent list of potential targets:
Some of my favorite dishes include recycled breadcrumbs and I'm very, very hungry for a big Sounders move.
Gaibor is now rumored to have interests from two unnamed MLS clubs:
https://www.univision.com/deportes/futbol/mls/dos-equipos-de-la-mls-estarian-interesados-en-el-volante-ecuatoriano-fernando-gaibor
At the time of the fanpost above, Gaibor was playing as a CAM for Emelec. We know Henderson took in at least one Emelec match while there. It wouldn't be the first time a Sounders rumor took a couple years to come to fruition (Nelson Haedo Valdez for example).
In 2018, Gaibor made a move to Independiente in the Pirmera Division in Argentina - another team Henderson has more recently been known to have watched/scouted. While Gaibor still wears the #10, he has actually been used primarily as a DM in Argentina in a 4-2-3-1. He has filled in a couple of times at the CAM slot as well as subbing in as the LM in a switch to a 4-3-3. With the loss of Alonzo and Giabor's flexibility, this is the kind of player one could envision the Sounders front office coveting. At 27, he is at the peak of his career.
Are the Sounders one of the teams rumored to be after Fernando Gaibor? Time will tell. The fact that our scout has watched both of his recent clubs in person adds a bit of fuel to the fire. The fact that we previously speculated that we had eyes on him in Ecuador adds more. The fact that he plays a position of need in a formation we play adds more. The fact that he's concretely rumored to have interest from two MLS clubs adds even more.
Does anyone have a match?