After adding Jamaican striker Darren Mattocks, it seems that Rising coach Rick Schantz isn’t finished tinkering with his squad.
“The idea for us is right now to bring in a player or two before our roster freeze on the 24th and see if we can’t get a little bit deeper,” Schantz said.
When pressed over what specific positions he was seeking to fill in the squad, the coach was a little coy with his answer, before revealing where he feels his team is weakest in depth.
“We’ve got quite a few attackers, we’ve got quite a few defenders,” Schantz said. “We don’t have a lot of midfielders, so, there you go.”
One player linked with a move to the club is Venezuelan international Luis Manuel Seijas, who most recently played for Santa Fe in Colombia. Reports in South America first suggested a move for the 35-year-old to Phoenix, before 90+ Rising’s Juan Urresti reported on Monday that the midfielder had signed a deal through the end of the 2022 season.
On Tuesday, Schantz confirmed that Seijas had been training at Wild Horse Pass.
“He knew our assistant coach, Juan Guerra, from playing together in Venezuela in the years passed,” the coach said. “There was an opportunity for us to bring in a player that was out of contract. He’s done really well in training, and that’s kind of where its at right now.”
An experienced player, he could be expected to contribute heavily off the field.
“[He could play] probably any of the three midfield positions,” Schantz said. “A player with this type of experience, he’s really an eight but man, he’s super, super techincal. Very, very clean. Extremely hard working. He’s going to bring a lot to our locker room if it works out. [He’d be] a good mentor to Arturo and help some of the younger guys.
“This guy’s played in front of 100,000 people. He’s scored a goal against Real Madrid. He’s played in a Sudamericana final, and a guy with this type of experience is very, very valuable to us, and it’ll help our locker room immensely.”
Meanwhile, Rising captain Solomon Asante is continuing his return to play following a hamstring injury against Sacramento Republic.
“He was in partial training today and progressing extremely fast,” Schantz said. “I think that if this were the playoffs, he’d probably be able to play right now. But the idea is to make sure that we don’t have this injury in the next 11 games so that it impacts the playoffs. Hopefully, we’re not sure but maybe next week some time, we’ll see him on the field.”
Rising’s next match will be away to LA Galaxy II on Saturday September 11.
Want to hear more? Preview Saturday’s game with Rising Matchday – streaming at 9 a.m. Saturday morning on YouTube and Facebook, and available on demand shortly after.