FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Brad Friedel’s ninth signing as head coach of the New England Revolution was officially announced on Thursday morning, and a 10th may soon be on the way.
Luis Alberto Caicedo Mosquera will join the Revs on loan from Colombian side Cortuluá for the rest of 2018 with a purchase option following the season, and Friedel said the Revs could soon be announcing another addition as the regular season pushes into a second weekend.
“We’re very close on another (signing),” Friedel said after training on Thursday morning. “I can’t say anything about it at this [juncture], but we are close to one more coming in.”
While details are scarce on that potential addition, Friedel spoke at length about Caicedo on Thursday, praising the versatile midfielder who he said can play centrally in both a holding role and box-to-box, or potentially as a winger.
“He’s not the tallest in stature, but he’s a very, very powerful player,” Friedel said of the 5-foot-7 Colombian, who he likened to Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Chara. “He’ll add a lot of pace to the team, and he’s also very good on the ball.”
Caicedo won’t join the Revs until he receives his International Transfer Certificate and his P-1 Visa – Friedel said “it’s all down to governments” as to how long that process will take – but when he does arrive, he’ll be 100 percent fit, having featured in recent weeks for Cortuluá.
At 21 years old, Caicedo is a bit younger than Friedel’s other international signings (Cristian Penilla – 26, Gabriel Somi – 26, Wilfried Zahibo – 24), but he fits the profile of the type of player the Revs have pursued – young and just entering the prime of his career.
Caicedo joins the likes of Zahibo, Scott Caldwell, Zach Herivaux and Kelyn Rowe in the battle for those deeper-lying central midfield roles, but he’ll aim to jump into that fray straightaway as he fights for the chance to see first-team minutes.
“We’ll have no issues getting him acclimated fitness-wise,” Friedel said. “But he’ll have to do his best to work very hard to try to get a starting place, like any other player in the team.”
