Lucas Zelarayán, a CM from Argentina, has been a winner with Liga MX side Tigres for a number of years now. At 27, he is one of the more decorated players I've seen come to Columbus (in or out of MLS). Look at this:
CLUB WINNER
3x Liga MX Winner
2018/2019 Clausura, 2017/2018 Apertura, 2016/2017 Apertura
Runner-up
2016/2017 Clausura
3x Campeón de Campeones, Winner
2017/2018, 2016/2017, 2015/2016
Runner-up
2018/2019
CLUB INTERNATIONAL
3x Concacaf Champions League Runner-up 2019, 2016/2017, 2015/2016
Campeones Cup Winner 2018
Zelarayán appears to be Federico Higuain's replacement and will easily be the best player on the team. He also provides some continuity in regards to Argentines playing the CAM in Columbus that goes back about 13 years now (2007-2010 Guillermo Barros Schelotto, 2012-2019 Higuain).
Looking over his recent playing record at SofaScore, TransferMarket, FIFA 20, and FM20 the picture I am getting is a player similar to what Crew fans are used to in Higuain. He might be a bit more aggressive, but a lot of that depends on how Caleb Porter decides to deploy him.
His arrival means that Columbus will likely line back up in a 4231 formation.
Columbus has been busy this week! Zelarayan and Wormgoor additions keep the Crew in the MLS playoff picture and a bit better than what we saw last year. About the same if Valenzuela and Higuain had been healthy all season.
I'll have a post with the latest lineup projection in a few minutes, but one last thing here is that I don't think Columbus had to let Higuain go unless he is going to retire off the injury. He was only at $1m last season. Columbus needs another playmaker that is able to come on late or allow for greater lineup, tactical options.
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