It’s almost exactly two months ago when the Vancouver Whitecaps raised some eyebrows at the MLS Superdraft in Baltimore.
The consensus number one pick was Akron University forward Darlington Nagbe, but the Whitecaps had another idea.
Instead they went with 17-year-old striker Omar Salgado, who was involved at the youth level with Guadalajara in Mexico, before hooking up with the U.S. under-20 set up.
Here's where it got tricky and why the experts were a little dubious about Vancouver's tactics.
There's a FIFA rule that prohibits anyone under 18-years-old from playing for a team in a country other than his own, for Salgado that means waiting until September.
The fact that Salgado is a citizen of both Mexico and the United States and not Canada, didn’t bothered the Whitecaps.
They're in it for the long haul and while they recognized his talent, they considered him a long term project and are willing to wait until his 18th birthday, before throwing him into the first team.
But things have changed, it turns out Salgado is even better than they thought he was.
It’s a silly game to compare 17-year-olds with promise, to established stars but here we go anyway. Dare we say he reminds us of say, Peter Crouch?
That is to say a big target man who holds up the ball well, is also good with the ball at his feet, and is quick for a big man. Yes all that.
The Whitecaps should be so lucky because he's mature beyond his years. I was struck by his poise when I chatted with him at the draft. It was easy to forget he's only 17.
Salgado has scored three times this pre-season, including two goals against MLS opposition. The Whitecaps now figure, not only is he good enough to make the roster, he's good enough to get some starts as well.
At any rate, Vancouver has petitioned MLS to get an exemption for Salgado so he doesn't have to waste away the summer with the reserve team, that petition is now winding its way through the political minefield of the football rule makers and rule enforcers.
While conceding Salgado is playing in a foreign country, Vancouver argues he is playing in a U.S. domestic league. At least that's how they see it.
The FIFA rule is apparently there to discourage under age players from trekking abroad in an effort to make it, fail in doing so and wind up on the streets in a foreign land without the resources to deal with their situation.
That's certainly not the case with Salgado, although it’s impossible to say how this one will turn out. The Whitecaps are hoping to have an answer in the affirmative before the season opener March 19th.
Either way, they've got a hot property on their hands and if he's half as good as he appears to be, the question is how long will they be able to hold on to him before the word gets out?
