Report: RSL goes all in with biggest move of summer transfer window

SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake made its fourth and biggest move of the summer transfer window Monday ahead of the MLS home stretch.

MLS insider Tom Bogert reported the transfer of 27-year-old Portuguese attacking midfielder Diogo Goncalves from Danish club FC Copenhagen to RSL for a fee "just north of $3 million."

"This is a win-now move," Bogert said in his post on X. "Diogo Goncalves joins a star-studded attack around MVP candidate Chicho Arango and rising stars Diego Luna and Andres (Gomez). RSL is loading up for a push in the (Supporters') Shield race and (MLS) playoffs."

The reported transfer sum makes Goncalves the biggest RSL signing since Arango last summer and the fourth transfer of over $3 million in the previous two seasons with Gomez's arrival from Colombia and midfielder Braian Ojeda's permanent move from Nottingham Forest.

The move will also reportedly put Goncalves in one of the club's three designated player spots, likely moving Matt Crooks into a roster spot paid for with targeted allocation money. Crooks could also be out of the starting lineup when Goncalves arrives with both players labeled as attacking midfielders and all other spots in the midfield and attack locked up by other players.

Goncalves came up through the famed Portuguese club Benfica and made 61 appearances for the "Big Three" team before moving to Copenhagen in 2023. He scored 14 goals in 36 appearances for the top Danish club.

He joins wingers Benji Michel and Lachlan Brook as attacking additions this summer and Jamaican defender Jaivan Brown who RSL claimed off the MLS waiver wire after Vancouver released him last month.

Michel made his RSL debut on July 20 but the rest will likely have to wait until the MLS season resumes on Aug. 24 at home against San Jose to make their first appearances on the pitch.

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