MLS Transfers: Obed Vargas' dream move, San Jose land Timo Werner | OneFootball

By Charles Boehm

WHAM!

Did you hear it?

That was the sound (so to speak) of the winter transfer window closing in most of Europe’s top leagues on Monday, including England, Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Belgium. Which means that while players there can continue to depart for MLS (where this window stays open for weeks to come, until March 26) and other leagues, most Euro clubs can welcome no further arrivals until the summer.

As you might imagine, that influenced transfer activity around here, most notably in the case of a certain 20-year-old Alaskan you might have heard of… so that’s where we start the latest edition of our silly-season roundup.

READ MORE: MLS Transfer Tracker updates

1. Obed to Atleti

It’s been the rumbling question around the Seattle Sounders for months: Would Obed Vargas, to most eyes the most accomplished youngster in MLS, secure his desired European move before entering the final year of his contract, or play out 2026 with the Rave Green and leave on a free transfer at season’s end?

Remarkably, Seattle and their prized homegrown pulled off a deal truly serendipitous in both its timing and destination: A late-breaking leap to Spanish giants Atlético Madrid, a club Vargas has supported since his childhood in distant, snowy Anchorage, and one that got an up-close look at him when they dueled the Sounders in last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup. 

As it turns out, SSFC majority owner Adrian Hanauer got this ball rolling on that fateful day at Lumen Field, telling Atleti executives to “keep your eye on” the central-midfield dynamo, that “he's good enough to catch your attention, and today he'll leave no doubt,” according to Seattle general manager Craig Waibel.

Shoot your shot, kids!

The transfer fee involved is reportedly in the $3.5-4 million range plus a hefty rack of add-ons and sell-on clauses, which is a bargain, but still good business for the Sounders considering the kid’s massive future upside, and also said to be a new outbound club record. And it’s the latest in a string of big Euro moves for top-ranking prospects in MLSsoccer.com’s annual 22 Under 22 rankings, which Vargas topped last year – followed by Alex Freeman, who’s also La Liga-bound, with Villarreal CF.

2. A new DP for RBNY

After reeling in veteran Europeans Emil Forsberg and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as Designated Players over the previous two offseasons, Red Bull New York went in a very different direction for their third DP, acquiring Mexican-American winger Jorge Ruvalcaba from Pumas UNAM in a deal completed on Monday.

It involves a reported $6.5 million fee, which would match RBNY’s club record, though it’s significant that Ruvalcaba can apparently be bought down to TAM (Targeted Allocation Money) level in future years, meaning that DP slot could someday be opened up for another high-grade reinforcement.

Along similar lines, it’s important to note the Red Bulls just set a new record outbound transaction, selling 23-year-old center back Noah Eile to English Championship outfit Bristol City for reportedly north of $4 million, which represents a developmental win for the taurine side of Gotham.

Ruvalcaba’s recruitment extends the philosophical shift under new head coach Michael Bradley, who’s nudged RBNY in a younger and more possession-oriented direction this winter, including another LIGA MX capture, Cade Cowell. Yet another promising addition, completed late last week: bringing home US international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath from Cardiff City.

3. Timo is a Quake; Chicho is not

It’s finally official: The San Jose Earthquakes completed one of the biggest signings of their MLS existence, bringing German international Timo Werner from RB Leipzig to the Bay. And not a moment too soon, given the almost-simultaneous loan departure of striker Chicho Arango to his hometown club Atlético Nacional back in Colombia, a move he’s said to have sought for “personal reasons.”

Last season’s Quakes were flawed but fun, scoring 60 goals yet narrowly missing the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. The subsequent exits of Arango, Josef Martínez and Cristian Espinoza represent a combined loss of 52 goal contributions in 2025 league action.

That puts the onus on Werner to produce early and often, despite the reality that he only played 13 minutes for Leipzig in the current Bundesliga season.

Nonetheless, hopes are rising in San Jose. 

“[With] the addition of Timo and perhaps one or two other players, I think we're really going to be a very competitive team this year,” said head coach and sporting director Bruce Arena in a Friday press conference. “We've done a lot here with the club. We've improved our facilities; we have some excellent training fields now, our stadium surface has improved. We have a new team dining hall, a team meeting room. Ownership has really supported us over the past year. 

“We have to be patient, but we have enough quality.”

4. RSL busy at both ends of roster

Real Salt Lake have flown under the radar this offseason, as they so often do, working in the shadows compared to counterparts in bigger metropolitan areas. That changed on Tuesday, when the Claret-and-Cobalt sealed a deal for Guinean international attacker Morgan Guilavogui from surprise Ligue 1 title contenders RC Lens. RSL’s newest DP arrives on a reported transfer fee of between $5-6 million, just shy of their club-record spend on the aforementioned Chicho Arango a couple of years back.

While he’s not quite a household name, it should be noted that Guilavogui performed well on loan in the Bundesliga with St. Pauli in 2024-25, helping Hamburg’s punk rockers avoid relegation on their return to the German top flight and setting off something of a tug-of-war between them and Lens.

All in all, there’s a lot to like about Salt Lake’s winter business. They've also added European know-how in Dutch midfielder Stijn Spierings and versatile FC Cincinnati ex Lukas Engel, continued their usual youth development focus with a flurry of homegrown signings and smart swoops for Chance Cowell, Zach Booth and Kobi Henry, and have been linked to Uruguayan wingback Juan Manuel Sanabria and Colombian central defender Juan José Arias.

5. Whitecaps stack depth

The Vancouver Whitecaps are one of several MLS sides facing an early start to a busy year thanks to another Concacaf Champions Cup campaign, and they’ve quietly bolstered their squad in preparation. 

VWFC just added to their South American contingent with the acquisition of winger Bruno Caicedo, who like Pedro Vite – the Whitecaps alum who reaped a multi-million-dollar return on their investment with last summer’s big transfer to Pumas – is an Ecuador youth international who arrives via the U22 Initiative. 

The ‘Caps also reeled in former Columbus Crew and St. Louis CITY SC standout AZ Jackson on loan from his Polish club Jagiellonia Białystok until June, with an option to buy. Even if they decide not to exercise that, this looks like a smart play, given Ryan Gauld will be sidelined until April due to a recent debridement procedure on his troublesome left knee.

Last year’s Western Conference champions have still had more outs than ins in this window to date, so we’re curious to see if coach Jesper Sørensen and CEO/sporting director Axel Schuster seek out further reinforcements.

Bits and bobs...

A talented goalkeeper making a seven-figure move from FC Dallas to vaunted Dutch powerhouse Ajax Amsterdam? Yes, though it’s not a rising academy kid like you might expect, but Maarten Paes, the Indonesia international who’s been one of MLS’s top ‘keepers over the past few years.

While Paes will leave Frisco as arguably the best GK in FCD’s history, he lost his starting job to homegrown Michael Collodi last season – and in a testament to the rising expectations around Toyota Stadium, Dallas have also secured a rival to compete with Collodi in Jonathan Sirois, via a Monday trade with CF Montréal.

Big-ticket moves to big-name clubs abroad like Obed Vargas’ inevitably hog the spotlight at this time of year. Don’t sleep, however, on the fact that the Portland Timbers could end up sending nearly as hefty a sum to the Colorado Rapids in their transaction for homegrown Cole Bassett, a high-energy No. 8 who bagged 31g/21a in 172 matches across all competitions for his boyhood club.