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SALT LAKE CITY — Looks like Real Salt Lake is getting a head start on its summer transfer plans.
The Athletic's Tom Bogert reported Saturday a deal is being finalized to send 18-year-old forward Fidel Barajas to Mexico's Club Deportivo Guadalajara, nicknamed "Chivas," for "north of $4 million, a new club record for RSL."
Barajas arrived in Utah just five months ago from the Charleston Battery in the USL Championship and immediately made waves with his desire to score goals and surprising maturity for a then-17-year-old.
The teenager filled an early void with the departure of Jefferson Savarino and started four of the team's first 10 matches of the MLS season, though his lone goal came in RSL's surprising loss to New Mexico in the U.S. Open Cup.
The breakout play of Diego Luna and Andres Gomez on the wings made it difficult for Barajas to find minutes in recent weeks, as the Mexico youth international hasn't surpassed 45 minutes on the field since April.
Now Barajas gets a chance to prove his mettle at the most valuable club in Mexico and RSL gets its best return in club history for a player, passing the $2.7 million for Savarino in January.
Bogert added in his report that RSL "intends to reinvest the funds received ... into the first team this summer."
"RSL is tied for first place in the West (and) pushing for trophies this year," Bogert said. "(They) know they have the chance for a special season."
The Claret and Cobalt are back in action on July 3 against the Houston Dynamo at America First Field and the MLS summer transfer window opens on July 18.
