The Dynamo finalize a deal to sell Erick Torres to Mexican club Pumas UNAM.
Erick Torres is on the move after all.
The Dynamo have finalized a deal to sell Torres to Mexican club Pumas UNAM. Pumas announced the transfer on its official Twitter account late Wednesday night.
The Dynamo are expected to announce the deal Thursday.
Negotiations between the clubs moved rapidly once Pumas reached out to the Dynamo late Tuesday afternoon. Torres flew to Mexico City on Wednesday.
Pumas is the second Liga MX club this month and third overall the Dynamo talked to about moving Torres, who set a club record by scoring 14 goals last season.
The Dynamo tried to sell Torres, 25, to Veracruz several weeks ago, but the deal fell through for unspecified reasons.
Toward the end of the 2016 season, the Dynamo loaned Torres to Cruz Azul. The agreement had an option to buy for Cruz Azul, but Torres suffered a knee injury in his third appearance. The injury forced Cruz Azul to decline the option.
“I am happy because there were Mexican teams interested in me and are still observing me,” Torres said to the Chronicle through a translator Tuesday morning while discussing the failed move to Veracruz.
Selling Torres will create massive flexibility for the Dynamo during the summer transfer window. According to the MLS Players Union, Torres made a $650,000 salary in 2017.
The sale also freed up one of three precious Designated Player spots for the Dynamo.
Having more than five months to scout players who could fill that role would be extremely beneficial for the Dynamo.
Torres signed a five-year contract with MLS in December 2014 after his former club, Chivas USA, folded. The league offered Torres to every club, and the Dynamo won the bid.
Various difficulties held back Torres during his first two seasons in Houston. After scoring 22 goals in 44 games with Chivas USA in 2013 and 2014, Torres scored none for the Dynamo in 22 games in 2015 and 2016.
Reunited last season with his former Chivas USA coach, Wilmer Cabrera, Torres scored a Dynamorecord 14 goals. Most of them came early in the season, and he didn’t score after Aug. 23.