With the Major League Soccer season officially ending earlier this month, the Dynamo have been busy looking ahead into 2020 making a flurry of moves. Dynamo general manager Matt Jordan has been behind the transactions to sign head coach Tab Ramos and trading for star forward Darwin Quintero who is a well-known threat and goal scorer.
“It’s been a very productive last few weeks and we’re really excited of course to have Tab as our head coach and we’ve been working on the trade for Darwin for quite some time” Jordan said on Soccer Matters last Tuesday.
Quintero was acquired from Minnesota United for a 2020 third-round pick in the MLS SuperDraft in exchange for midfielder Marlon Hairston and $150,000 of general allocation money and $150,000 in target allocated money in both 2020 and 2021. The trade was made after Houston and Quintero agreed to a long-term contract.
“He’s definitely a difference maker, and he can make plays in the final third. That’s a quality that’s very hard to come by, we really like that he can play multiple positions in the attacking third where he finds a lot of open space in between the lines,” Jordan said. “He’s excellent when he does find those pockets that you can instantly put defenses on their heels and the great thing is that he can create chances himself and obviously with others around him as well. With having those qualities that is the real difference between having top-level attackers and good attackers is that they can create chances for themselves and he possesses that.”
Quintero had 21 goals and 20 assists across 57 appearances over two seasons for Minnesota, though he fell out of favor in big games towards the end of 2019. Quintero was left out of the starting lineup for the final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the club's first-ever playoff game, both losses. The 32-year-old was Minnesota's first-ever Designated Player.
“Having a player like Darwin resonates with our fan base, with the strong connection of the city of Houston and the Liga MX clubs so I think having a guy like him is an added bonus for sure,” Jordan said. “We’re so pleased to have him and I can tell you Darwin is so motivated to be here and is so excited to be apart of our club.”
