The striker is among the 15 best finishers in MLS since 2015
The Montreal Impact pulled off the biggest deal in the small transfer window on Sunday morning, acquiring veteran Argentine striker Maximiliano Urruti from FC Dallas for the modest price of $75,000 in Targeted Allocation Money, while $50,000 was acquired from Vancouver in exchange for goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau and a first round pick in the 2019 SuperDraft. Any questions surrounding the centre forward position have therefore dissipated: excluding any surprises, Rémi Garde’s attacking trident of choice should be entirely South American.
The Impact’s head coach was never too secretive about the type of striker he wanted: someone who’s voluntary, physical, supportive, who doesn’t measure his efforts, who provides the first line of defense, who can play with the ball and score goals. It’s what Urruti offers, having completed 123 tackles – the most for strikers in MLS –, scored 29 goals and adding 20 assists in the last three seasons.
“It’s my priority: an efficient forward, but who works for the team,” Garde had said during his post mortem. “I’ve always had strikers who scored goals in my teams, even if I expected them to work just as hard as anybody else. I want to find someone like that, who’s also efficient.”
The Bleu-blanc-noir therefore got its hands on an interesting number 9 for the upcoming season. Chemistry should be evident early between himself, Nacho Piatti and Alejandro Silva. Since 2014, Urruti has managed a conversion rate, meaning goals scored compared to shots taken, of 15.2%; last season, Silva, Urruti, and Piatti scored 29 goals while adding 35 assists in 98 games between the three.
Maximiliano Urruti in MLS regular season since 2014 (his first complete season): 155 games played, 45 goals, including nine from outside the box, in 296 shots, for a 15.2% conversion rate, 146 shots on target for a 49.3% precision rate, 1,923 passes completed, including 926 in the final third, for a 77% success rate, 593 duels won, 405 recoveries, 89 aerial duels won, 134 chances created, 103 dribbles completed.
