Jamaican defender Damion Lowe is on the brink of securing a deal to play for Phoenix Rising through the end of the season.

In his weekly press conference, Rising head coach Rick Schantz confirmed that the 27-year-old center-back was in Phoenix, and the team is making its mind up on whether to sign him.

“His agent reached out to us, and we have brought him in,” Schantz told reporters. “He’s started training with us. We’re just kind of evaluating. His contract was cancelled in Norway because of COVID […] so it’s an opportunity for us to take a look and see if he can improve our team, and maybe get him in shape and get him ready for the playoff run.”

Lowe needs to be registered with the club by 5pm ET on Friday in order to beat the USL Championship roster freeze. However, Schantz would not disclose when he expected a decision to be made before that point.

The move was first reported by Jamaica Television’s Simon Preston on Sunday, who tweeted that Lowe would join Rising on a short-term deal before moving on to Al-Markhiya in Qatar. In a since-deleted instagram post, the Jamaica Football Federation also stated that Lowe would be linking up with fellow Reggae Boyz Kevon Lambert and Junior Flemmings.

In addition to team training today, Schantz described being impressed by Lowe’s tenacity, speed and comfort on the ball during a session on Monday night.

“He’s very talkative, a good leader on the field,” Schantz described. “I’ve already noticed it. He’s directing traffic in front of him. He’s pretty dominant physically. I think he’s about 6’3″, 180, extremely quick. Hopefully it works out, we’ll see. He’s got to get fit.”

Fitness could be an issue, with Lowe’s last match coming in November 2019. His last club was Norweigan side IK Start, with whom he played in both of the top two divisions. Prior to that spell, he featured for Tampa Bay Rowdies, Minnesota United and Seattle Sounders 2.

“If he plays to the level that I would expect, and what he’s capable of, he is, I would almost say, bigger, stronger and faster than anyone we have,” Schantz said.

“It would create a rotation at center-back. As you know right now, we’ve been playing with Corey [Whelan], A.J. [Cochran] and Joey Farrell all on the field at the same time. The only cover we had is Austin Ledbetter and Kyle Bjornethun, and not that they can’t do it, but both of them are primarily full-backs and not really center-halves. So Damion gives us that three for two in the middle, and that’s extremely important going into playoffs.”

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PRESS CONFERENCE

• The September international window was called off for CONCACAF nations, but there remains one on the calendar for October. With a few Jamaican players in the squad, could this cause a problem for team selection when the playoffs roll around? “They’ve given us a five-day window for playoff games,” Schantz said, “so maybe we can negotiate there with Jamaica and try and play on a Thursday or something.”
• Schantz clarified that the usual rule regarding playoff eligibility for loan players has been relaxed. Normally, loan players must feature on the field at least five times prior in order to be able to play in the postseason. However, this year players only need to feature in the matchday squad of 18 twice to gain eligibility. That means that Eric Dick can remain as backup keeper and still be available for selection in the playoffs.
• A midweek game in the last week of the season may give Schantz a selection headache as he looks to balance player condition and seeding for the playoffs. “If we are in contention for the best record in the Western Conference, that puts a little pressure at the end of the season on the guys having to play more, but I think the reality is we have to win the division first, and get one home game,” he said. However, Schantz isn’t necessarily expecting the team to be in contention, given the weaker opposition that Sacramento and Reno are set to face: “If they gather a bunch of points and make it difficult, then we have to be focused on making sure that we’re fit and rested and ready for the playoffs and peak at the right time, rather than push our guys and break them down before the end of the season.”