SANDY — In an attempt to bolster an offensive attack that has only managed nine goals in 10 games, Real Salt Lake has signed Venezuelan forward Jefferson Savarino. The 20-year arrived on loan from Venezuelan club Zulia and participated in training with his new club on Tuesday.
"He’s a great young player," said general manager Craig Waibel. "Obviously, we track all over the world. He’s been performing consistently now for about a year at a level that we felt could start to translate into MLS."
Head coach Mike Petke said he agrees with Waibel.
"He’s an exciting young player," said Petke. "He’s extremely fast, he’s fit, he’s active, he’s a goal-scorer. He’s creative, all that stuff in one."
Most exciting to both Waibel and Petke is Savarino's youthfulness.
"Well the best part about him now is he’s 20 and he’s still defining himself," said Waibel.
Savarino's addition couldn't have been more timely, as RSL has been dealing with a plague of injuries across the board.
"With our group right now with the injuires we have, it’s almost Band-Aids where we’re putting guys," said Waibel. "As we get healthy, it’ll be nice to watch the combinations and the relationships between himself, (Joao) Plata, Albert (Rusnak), Yura (Movsisyan), I mean you go through the list, Bofo (Sebastian Saucedo), (Brooks) Lennon and see as we get healthy and our players get back from the U-20s where that takes us."
Speaking through a translator, Savarino said he was glad to be with the club and that the first training session with his new teammates went well.
Savarino is expected to be an available substitute in Saturday's contest at the New England Revolution.
"In a perfect world you bring him in, you wouldn’t have to make decisions in the first week, but it looks like there’s some time for him to have and more power to him. He’s a good young player, he’ll transition quickly," added Waibel.
Injured players making progress; Rusnak held out of practice
It looks like some alleviation to RSL's injury woes may be on the way. Injured players Kyle Beckerman, Tony Beltran, David Horst, and Nick Rimando all partially participated in warmups and some drills in Tuesday's training session.
Midfielder Albert Rusnak was held out of practice as a precautionary measure after a few bumps and bruises in last week's 3-0 defeat to Dallas FC.
"We’re at bare bones right now so we don't really want to push as much," said Petke.