Brazil's Palmeiras Rafael Navarro celebrates after scoring against Venezuela's Deportivo Tachira during the Copa Libertadores group stage first leg football match at the Polideportivo de Pueblo Nuevo stadium in San Cristobal, Venezuela, on April 6, 2022. (Photo by Federico Parra / AFP) (Photo by FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images)
COMMERCE CITY – As first reported by Venê Casagrande and Tom Bogert, the Colorado Rapids have signed SE Palmeiras forward Rafael Navarro, the club announced Monday afternoon. The deal is a one-year loan with an option to buy. He will be a Designated Player and take up an INT slot. Reports are this move is a $500K loan fee with the option to buy at $4.5 million, which Burgundy Wave has heard independently as well.
A $5 million total package would be almost double the highest transfer fee in club history, set by Juan Ramírez at $2.7 million in February 2015. If the Navarro works out and is worth that price tag, he could be one of biggest signings in club history. If the Rapids actually pay that fee next summer, it will be a massive step forward and proof of intent by ownership.
“We’re thrilled to add a striker of Rafael’s quality to our roster as we continue our push to get back into the playoff race,” said Colorado Rapids President Pádraig Smith.
“Rafael is a talented and tenacious player who will bring a goalscoring threat and experience at the highest levels in South America to the club. We believe he can immediately improve our attacking core and look forward to welcoming him to Colorado.”
Navarro is listed at 6’0″, 185 lbs, and is a traditional No. 9. He has four goals in 17 appearances, 424 minutes this calendar year. Remember that Brazil’s club calendar and schedule is strange. He’s backing up two center forwards in Rony and Endrick who are probably worth double what he is worth.
Navarro has only been with Palmeiras since January 2022, but Colorado has been scouting in Brazil and Argentina for years now. He could have been on their radar since his time at Botafogo. At the very least, they’ve had a close eye on him for 18-months. Hopefully they know a few things other clubs who have been scouting Palmeiras do not.
There’s a few concerns here. Colorado’s yet to have a big young South American player work out. Braian Galván did score the winner last Saturday in the first home win of the year. He’s had some injuries and has been emotional to a fault at times. Lucas Esteves, former loaned left back and Palmeiras player, also was a hot head. Max Alves appeared to be the best of the bunch, but is not with the team and under investigation for sports gambling. It’s a valid question whether he’ll play for the club again.
The club has put a greater emphasis on character and the human being behind the player in recent years. Those three players have yet to those values.
Hopefully the Rapids have done their homework on Navarro the person and they’re in a position to help him adapt quickly to MLS and America. Player Welfare Officer Brian Reed and Club Language Specialist Andre Hilf will be critical.
In terms of the player, Rafael Navarro has the physical measurements one would want. From his YouTube highlights, he’s got the technical skills on the ball. Bit of a poacher. He’s good at finding space in the box and finishing chances in those situations. He can hold the ball up and doesn’t mind dropping a bit deep. Seems like the ideal strike partner for Diego Rubio. If Wolde Harris can unlock some of that potential, they absolutely have a $5 million striker in Navarro. Navarro certainly has the potential to be the game-changing DP forward Rapids fans have longed for.
It’s also worth pointing out the club now has three DPs for the first time since 2016 (Tim Howard, Shkëlzen Gashi, and Kevin Doyle), with Kévin Cabral and Andreas Maxsø.
There’s one immediate benefit to this move. This has to end the Kévin Cabral up top experiment. It has not worked out at all. He should be moved out wide where he’ll be more comfortable.
The last concern I have is about the option to buy. Many Rapids fans will not believe KSE’s is willingness to spend until they see it. The club does not have a great track record with loans with an options to buy. See Edgar Castillo, Esteves, and more recently Marko Ilić. Hopefully if the loan works out, ownership follows through and the front office doesn’t get in situation where Palmeiras strongarms them into haggling.
Photo Credit: FEDERICO PARRA/AFP via Getty Images
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One thought on “Colorado Rapids Confirm Rafael Navarro Loan With Option to Buy”
[…] expected goals in those games (0.63, 0.63, 0.17 respectively per FotMob). This despite new signings Rafael Navarro and Sidnie Tavares starting all three […]
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Brian Jennings
[…] expected goals in those games (0.63, 0.63, 0.17 respectively per FotMob). This despite new signings Rafael Navarro and Sidnie Tavares starting all three […]