Danny Mwanga is on his way home. Jorge Perlaza is on his way out.
The Timbers swapped strikers with the Philadelphia Union today, acquiring the former Jefferson High School and Oregon State star Mwanga, 20, in exchange for the 27-year-old Perlaza.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for me to come back to my hometown and play in front of family and friends,” said Mwanga. “I’m excited, and I can’t wait to get out to Portland and get to work.”
A former No. 1 overall SuperDraft pick, Mwanga scored five goals last season, one less than Perlaza in 2011. Neither, however, has found the back of the net this season. PTFC owner Merritt Paulson tweeted that Mwanga “needs a change,” and the same could be said for Portland: They sit in seventh place out west and limped into a 2+ week international break with a forgettable 1-0 overtime loss to a fifth-tier amateur team.
Awesome news! It is cool how the Timbers are really promoting home grown players. Perlaza was good, but it is clear they need to change some things.
BREAKING: using BREAKING: for news stories is masturbatory bullshit.
If Perlaza immediately starts scoring elsewhere, we’ve got some big coach/management/strategic issues.
Fascinating. NOT.
Perlaza was brilliant at finding space but ALWAYS had problems finishing. could be a confidence issue, but I think he’s got some serious technical deficiencies. I would be very surprised if he suddenly became a scoring machine.
should be a bigger upside w/ Mwanga based on what I’ve seen.