MLS notebook: Moves by NYCFC, Portland, Houston, Atlanta, Miami (2024)

Parks headed to NYCFC on permanent deal

New York City FC has acquired American midfielder Keaton Parks in a permanent transfer from Benfica, according to multiple league sources with knowledge of the deal.

Parks, 22, spent last season on loan with NYCFC, where he played in 22 games with 14 starts. The U.S. international has signed a long-term contract to return to New York for the Cityzens. The deal will be above the 2019 targeted allocation money threshold.

Parks began his professional career with Varzim in the Portuguese first division in 2015, making 10 appearances with the first team in 2016. Parks signed for Benfica in 2017 and spent most of his time with the second squad, though he made six appearances for the first team in all competitions. Parks joined NYCFC on loan last season and impressed with his performances after earning a starting role in the summer.

Parks will likely plug back into the starting No. 6 role in an NYCFC central midfield that also features Alexander Ring and Maxi Moralez.

The Plano, Texas, native made one appearance for the U.S. men’s national team in 2018 and played in two friendlies with the U.S. under-23 Olympic team last March.

Timbers spend big for Chara, continue search for striker

The Portland Timbers’ deal to acquire Yimmi Chara isn’t cheap.

According to a source, Portland will pay Brazilian club Atletico Mineiro a transfer fee just north of $6 million for Chara, the younger brother of longtime Timbers star Diego. Previous reporting out of Brazil pegged the fee at around $6 million. A fast, dangerous winger, Chara will be a designated player.

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL DO GAAAAAALLLOOOO!!

GOOOOLAAAÇOOO!!! Chará faz o segundo gol do Galo na partida! Vamos, Galo! #CAMxFLA pic.twitter.com/39wdpErHNf

— Atlético (@Atletico) May 18, 2019

That number is the second-largest transfer fee in Timbers history, trailing only the fee they paid to Necaxa for striker Brian Fernandez last spring. The Timbers terminated Fernandez’s contract in November after the player violated the terms of the league’s substance abuse and behavioral health program, which he had entered in October.

Chara won’t be the Timbers’ only acquisition this winter. Multiple sources said that Portland is working to sign a striker as a third DP. A report out of Poland on Thursday linked the club to 24-year-old Legia Warsaw striker Jaroslaw Niezgoda, who leads the Polish Ekstraklasa with 14 goals in 18 league games this season. The Athletic could not confirm the Timbers’ interest in Niezgoda, but one source said the club is still looking at multiple striker options for their third DP spot and has not yet settled on one target.

Houston closing in on goalkeeper

The Houston Dynamo hope to land a goalkeeper in the next couple of weeks, and, as first reported by The Athletic’s Jeff Rueter, one of the club’s targets is U.S. international William Yarbrough, according to a source.

Yarbrough has spent the bulk of his professional career with Liga MX club Leon. Born in Mexico to American parents, the 30-year-old was Leon’s starter for nearly five years, helping the club to a pair of Liga MX titles before being relegated to a backup role last fall.

Houston traded former starting goalkeeper Joe Willis to Nashville earlier this offseason. Michael Nelson, a 24-year-old with zero career MLS appearances, is currently the only goalkeeper on the Dynamo’s roster.

One potential hurdle, according to a source: Houston does not hold Yarbrough’s MLS discovery rights and would have to acquire them before signing him. His salary would also likely be significant for an MLS goalkeeper; 2018 interest from the San Jose Earthquakes reportedly didn’t lead to an agreement because the team failed to meet his wage demands.

Alvarado turns down Atlanta interest

With Leandro Gonzalez Pirez headed to Tijuana in a sale, as reported by The Athletic’s Felipe Cardenas, two sources say Atlanta inquired about the availability of former U.S. national team center back Ventura Alvarado.

Alvarado, 27, has spent the past three seasons with Necaxa in Liga MX, starting 55 league games in that span. But the Phoenix native turned down the possibility of a move, according to one source with knowledge of the talks. Alvarado has not played for the U.S. since 2015, though he was called in for four World Cup qualifiers in 2015 and 2016. The center back’s solid play in Mexico may get him back on the USMNT radar.

Anthony Pulis to Miami

Saint Louis FC coach Anthony Pulis will be joining Diego Alonso’s Inter Miami’s coaching staff, according to a league source with knowledge of the move.

Pulis has spent the past two seasons as head coach of the USL side, leading them to a record of 25-23-20 in that time. Prior to joining Saint Louis FC, Pulis was the head coach for Orlando City B. Pulis played for Orlando City in the USL, where his tenure coincided with current Inter Miami sporting director Paul McDonough, who served as Orlando City’s general manager from 2014 to 2015.

Alonso was announced as Inter Miami’s first coach earlier this week. The former Uruguay international won CONCACAF Champions League titles with both Pachuca and Monterrey as a coach. Pulis will add some knowledge of the domestic soccer environment, and while this will be his first full-time role at an MLS club, Pulis did go back and forth from the USL side to the first team with Orlando City in order to aid interim coach Bobby Murphy as an assistant coach after Adrian Heath’s firing in 2016.

Pulis is the son of Tony Pulis, the Welsh manager who most recently managed Middlesbrough from 2017 to 2019.

Felipe Cardenas also contributed to this report.

(Photo: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Paul Tenorio is a senior writer for The Athletic who covers soccer. He has previously written for the Washington Post, the Orlando Sentinel, FourFourTwo, ESPN and MLSsoccer.com. Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulTenorio