Pumas acquire Monterrey defender Johan Vasquez

Pumas made their best acquisition of the post season, picking up defender Johan Vasquez from Monterrey. The center back, who was also part of the U23 team who played in the 2019 Pan American games and is on the radar for the Olympic qualifying team, is looking for playing time as he didn’t have much with the current league champion this past season. Vasquez was part of the Concacaf Champions League winning team and played in the FIFA Club World Cup. Along with new addition Alejandro Mayorga, Vasquez is the best new addition for the team after a couple of lackluster season and he is poised to be one of the starting center backs along with Nicolas Freire.

Pumas didn’t have the best start to their post season. Pumas first two additions were Sebastian Saucedo and Favio Alvarez, two players from Major League Soccer who weren’t coming off great seasons. Pumas did improve with the loan of Chivas’ Mayorga. While Mayorga was also not coming from a great season, he had once been a strong prospect not only for Chivas but for the Mexican National team. If he gets a chance, he might be an interesting prospect for Pumas. Vasquez was the next signing and is a player who is U23 NT material, playing in the Pan American games as well as the U23 friendlies after the tournament. Vasquez is a strong player who unlike the other additions didn’t get as much playing time not because of his level of play, but because of how stacked Monterrey’s lineup is.

While Vasquez is the best addition for Pumas, all four players are coming in from lackluster situations. Pumas didn’t make a single big signing, all of them being loans or free transfers. This all leads to thinking that Pumas’ money woes not only continue but are actually worse. Pumas also moved a lot of players, with prospects Idekel Dominguez and Brian Figueroa leaving Pumas to join ex-President Rodrigo Ares de Parga in Queretaro. It’s also rumored that Juan Iturbe is set to join them. Just as Vasquez was announced, Pumas also announced that Martin Rodriguez was leaving the team for Morelia.

All of the departures don’t seem to affect Pumas’ plans that much, except for Iturbe who was a solid substitute this past season. It goes to show that especially after Chivas new era under Ricardo Pelaez, Pumas is the big four team that is doing the worst financially.