RSL sign Argentine striker Jaime from Chilean club


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SANDY — Real Salt Lake has a pretty good history of bringing in goal-scorers from South America to put the ball in the back of the net, with a group that includes Costa Rican Alvaro Saborio, Ecuadorian Joao Plata and Argentine Javier Morales.

General manager Garth Lagerwey tapped his south-of-the-border goal mine again Wednesday.

RSL signed Sebastian Jaime of Union Espanola in the Chilean Primera Division at the close of the MLS transfer window, Lagerwey confirmed Friday. The transfer is still pending Jaime’s approval of a P-1 visa, as well as the movement of at least one current RSL player to make room on the active roster.

The transfer was first reported by ESPN 700's Bill Riley.

The 5-foot-9, 154-pound Jaime will occupy a Designated Player spot, Lagerwey told the radio show. Terms of the deal have not been release but league policies stipulate that only $193,750 will be charged to the team's salary cap as a midseason DP signing over the age of 23. Jaime becomes RSL's third DP, joining the ranks of Saborio and Morales.

Julio Cesar of Brazil's Botafogo, left, fights for the ball with Sebastian Oscar Jaime of Chile's Union Espanola at a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Julio Cesar of Brazil's Botafogo, left, fights for the ball with Sebastian Oscar Jaime of Chile's Union Espanola at a Copa Libertadores soccer match in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, April 2, 2014. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (Photo: AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

"When we lost Alvaro Saborio for a long period of time we knew we had to consider all our attacking options," Lagerwey said in a club statement. "We had scouted Sebastian Jaime going back to 2012 and decided now was the right time to bring him in. We are excited to add a versatile player like Jaime who can comfortably play in either forward role in our system. Jaime has completed pre-season in Chile and played 90 minutes in each of Unión Española's first three league games so we expect him to be able to contribute immediately. He is a hard working player that we expect will be a good fit with our locker room and our community and we hope our fans will welcome him enthusiastically."

Real Salt Lake has until the Sept. 15 MLS roster freeze date to add Jaime to its active roster. No changes will be approved by the league after that date except under extreme hardship rules and procedures to replace certain injured or otherwise unavailable players. The club will be required to trade or release at least one player to fit Jaime under the roster and salary cap.

The 27-year-old Argentine striker scored 39 goals in 124 appearances across four seasons with Union Espanola. Jaime helped lead Los Rojos to a SuperCopa de Chile and first division title in 2013.

The forward in the prime of his career was seemingly brought in to help fill the void left by the injured Alvaro Saborio. The Costa Rican striker and RSL’s No. 2 goal-scorer has been sidelined since suffering a foot injury while preparing for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Jaime had a breakout season in 2012-13, when he came on to score 20 goals in 33 appearances for Union, including 26 starts.

“Sebastian has an offer, and it’s a situation that we have talked about,” Union coach Jose Luis Sierra told La Terceraafter practice Wednesday in Chile. “He has certain expectations for new challenges and, for one reason or another, he couldn’t leave before various options he had that didn’t materialize. If he is leaving, we wish him the best.”

More information will be released as it is made available.

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