Transfer Rumor: Are the Portland Timbers After Another Argentine?

Reports circulating around twitter and the Argentine press today have the Portland Timbers looking at another Argentine attacker, this time 22-year-old forward Lucas Melano. The current leading scorer for Club Athletico Lanus in Argentina, Melano has scored five times in fifteen games in the 2015 season.

The Timbers already have strong ties to Lanus, having brought in "The Maestro" Diego Valeri from Lanus in 2013; Norberto Paparatto also played for Lanus, although his time there was much earlier in 2005-2006.

Melano would likely be available to the Timbers as a young designated player, meaning that his cap hit would only be in the $200k range for the next two years. However, in order to bring him in, the Timbers would need to free up one of their three designated player slots, something that might be possible without having to move a player thanks to the new "Targeted Allocation Funds" that Major League Soccer announced on Tuesday.

Before joining Lanus, Melano played for Club Athletico Belgrano from the time he was eighteen, before being picked up by Lanus in 2013.

This season has been Melano's most productive to date as he has eclipsed his previous years' goal tallies and earned a regular spot in the starting lineup for Lanus, a mid-table team in the Argentinian Primera Division.

Check out a few of his brief highlights here:

What do you think of this potential move by the Timbers? Excited for a young talent or concerned that the Timbers are not going after a more established player?