The Colorado Rapids appear close to losing another one of their promising young stars – and that could be a very bad thing. Dillon Powers, midfielder for the Rapids and the USMNT U-23s, is currently in England on a two-week tryout with Reading FC of the Football League Championship. Reading played in the Premier League in 2012-13 after winning the Championship, but was relegated after one season.
Powers, a 24-year-old midfielder, has 13 goals in 92 appearances over three seasons with Colorado. The 11th overall draft pick in 2013 was named the MLS Rookie of the Year and club MVP that same year.
The tryout is a promising sign for the Rapids personnel and development department, albeit one that comes with a potentially huge downside for head coach Pablo Mastroeni.
Colorado ranked last in the league in goals scored this year, with Powers involved on nine of their 33 scores (3 goals, 6 assists). They simply cannot afford to lose any more offensive firepower.
On the development side, Paul Bravo, VP of soccer operations and technical director, said, “This is a good opportunity for Dillon to test himself alongside quality players and, we believe, another indication of our ability to develop talent.”
That ability was proven earlier this year when Apollon Limassol of the Cypriot League acquired Rapids Homegrown player Shane O’Neill in a transfer. Since then, O’Neill has signed a two-year contract with Royal Mouscron-Peruwelz in Belgium.
After the move to Apollon Limasoll, Bravo called the transaction “bittersweet.”
The same could be coming for Powers if the tryout goes well, but it could leave Rapids fans feeling more bitter than bittersweet.
The Plano, Texas native has been one of the few consistent players for Colorado through a tough spell of years, and although the chance to play in Europe is almost always welcomed by both player and MLS club, losing Powers would deprive Mastroeni of an attacking midfielder who has tallied 21 assists in three years in the league.
One of Colorado’s greatest weaknesses these past two years has been their ability to put the ball in net. The addition of Kevin Doyle improved their goal scoring for stretches late in the year this season, but the loss of Powers would be a backwards move in terms of their offensive production capabilities.
This is just a tryout after all, so there’s no need to worry too much about hypotheticals quite yet, but with a short offseason and a need to find playmakers, Mastroeni will no doubt be keeping a close eye on what happens in Reading.
