Sporting KC: Team Trades Amadou Dia for Cameron Porter
By Collin Bell
Sporting Kansas City traded defense for offense on Tuesday as they try to find a productive attacking players.
As the 2016 Major League Soccer (MLS) campaign continues through the summer months, clubs are making moves to bolster their rosters in order to make a playoff push. Sporting KC did just that on Tuesday when they traded defender Amadou Dia to Montreal Impact FC for forward Cameron Porter. The club also announced Tuesday they signed Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Appiah.
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Dia and Porter were both 2015 draft picks by their former clubs, and both have already seen significant playing time in the MLS and US Open Cup. Amadou Dia made 37 appearances for Sporting KC prior to being traded, and recorded three assists in those showings.
Cameron Porter saw less action for Montreal due to an ACL tear suffered in March of 2015. The small sample size didn’t stop Porter from making his presence known for Impact FC. He scored one of the most memorable goals in club history in the 2015 CONCACAF Champions league quarterfinal. The stoppage time goal propelled Montreal past Pachuca and into the squads first Champions League semifinal. Porter returned from his ACL injury just over a month ago and has played for Montreal FC, the USL club and for Impact FC.
This was a solid move for Sporting KC as they get some attacking help in the form of Porter, who made an immediate impact for Impact FC (no pun intended) prior to his injury. This fills a growing need for the club as they’ve struggled to score goals for much of this year. Quite a few of SKC’s goals have come from defenders, including two of the three scored against NYCFC (Medranda, Opara) and Matt Besler’s game winner against Columbus Crew in the match prior.
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Sporting’s strong back line means they likely won’t be hurt by the loss of Amadou Dia. SKC’s back four have played so well over the last month that Besler, a US Men’s National Team regular, hasn’t even been in the starting line-up in the last two matches.
On top of Tuesday’s trade, Sporting KC also announced they signed Ghanaian midfielder Emmanuel Appiah. Colorado Rapids picked Appiah in the first round of the 2016 draft. He never played for the club before they parted ways on June 30th.
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It seems unlikely that either of these players will make an impact on the MLS roster in the near future, with Porter coming off the ACL injury, and Appiah in his first MLS season and already with his second club. Skill wise, Porter is closer to MLS ready having logged appearances prior the injury last season.
Once his rehab is complete, he could make a contribution to the club before the season is over. Emmanuel Appiah, with the right training and progression, has the skill set to help Sporting KC in the future. Time will tell whether the signings will work out.