Tuesday Freedom Kicks: D.C. United trying to sign Luka Modric, and more – Black And Red United

Just another humdrum Monday, right? You know, just a day where D.C. United is seriously linked with Luka Modric, and gets ever closer to signing Edison Flores, and rebuffs a bid for Russell Canouse, and maybe hits their ceiling in the attempt to lure Santos Laguna into signing off on a deal to get Brian Lozano here. Oh, and there are now two unnamed European players involved, and theres a stray Andy Najar rumor, a what could have been for the Washington Spirit, and a change in leadership with Loudoun United.

Yup, normal Monday.

D.C. United targeting Luka Modric | The AthleticLets get the biggest news out of the way: D.C. United has apparently had at least some level of talks with Luka Modric about leaving Real Madrid and coming to the District. Theres no unexpected actually he has a stake in a coffee shop twist here, either: were talking about the Golden Ball winner from the last World Cup possibly playing at Audi Field for the team that a lot of us can go see via a short drive or stint on public transit.

Theres a long way to go from talks to Dave Johnson calling his name on a broadcast, but this sounds like it could really happen in the near (probably not before the season kicks off, but still) future.

Sources: Russell Canouse eyeing a move abroad as D.C. United rejects bid from Dynamo Dresden | The AthleticPablo Maurer was busy yesterday. Here, hes got Russell Canouse on the record about the prospect of a move back to Germany, and details on Uniteds position with regard to the initial offer from Dynamo Dresden.

My purely circumstantial thought on this move: Its not gonna happen. East German clubs are generally really struggling financially, and Canouse is very valuable here. However, if some other German club on firmer financial footing came along...never say never. United is currently looking at a logjam in defensive midfield, and Felipes contract is on the books after being carried by Vancouver last year. Not rooting for a Canouse departure over here, but sometimes thats the business.

Speaking of the business, how about even more transfer rumors!

The huge deal for Edison Flores could apparently be confirmed any day now, while the move for Brian Lozano appears to have hit a pretty major (like, a few million bucks) snag. We could still see movement there, especially if Lozano decides to really agitate to force Santos to let him go, but it sounds like the gap between the clubs is going to be too much.

Dossier transfers in Jupiler Pro League Wintermercato 2020 | voetbalbelgie.beLook, I want us all to be excited about the prospect of Andy Najar coming back to United. I hope it happens. But, at this point, this new rumor consists entirely of this Belgian site listing Najar as a possible departure from Anderlecht, and then placing (DC United) next to his name. The Honduran media reports out there all refer back to this piece, which has nothing behind it at this point.

There are circumstantial reasons to think it makes sense, so be hopeful, but dont be too hopeful until theres some actual smoke to this fire.

More rumors? You know it!

There are major moves brewing in NWSL, including Portland probably trading big-name players to get the #1 pick in the draft (which is in just 9 days!). The Washington Spirits move for Mariana Larroquette is something that head coach Richie Burke has hinted at vaguely (namely, comparing the difficulty of trying to clinch a transfer from a South American club with the ease of their successful move for Kumi Yokoyama), but this is the first real confirmation that they were after Larroquette, who impressed this summer.

The Thorns are shaking up the NWSL Draft | Stumptown FootyGoing back a moment, heres a look at why the Thorns could be trading well-regarded players like Emily Sonnett and Midge Purce.

One last piece of local news, because yesterday was out of control:

Its unclear at this juncture what Loudoun United will do, but they will have to do something. Behnke was a regular presence at every Loudoun-related event, and spoke on the teams behalf at the press conference announcing that the Spirits schedule would include 4 games at Segra Field.

Thats it! I lied, this is almost entirely a local teams-related Freedom Kicks, because the local teams were having their busiest day in months in terms of major news. Its supposed to snow today, so if youre working in D.C., get the hell out of there before 3pm. Or, if youre like me and have Caps tickets...I guess good luck?

Continue reading here:

Tuesday Freedom Kicks: D.C. United trying to sign Luka Modric, and more - Black And Red United