Mix Diskerud, More Than a Rumor

They call the periods of the year when the transfer window is open the silly season for a reason. Rumors swirl about players joining clubs and coaches have to respond to questions without giving a real answer.

The Columbus Crew have not been outside of the rumor mill and most of those have been dispelled by head coach Gregg Berhalter.

According a Sports Illustrated article today from Grant Wahl, who is currently in Portland for the MLS All-Star game, one of the rumors involving the Black and Gold was actually in the works. Wahl reported today that U. S. National Team player Mix Diskerud and the Crew were very close to a deal as of today before issues emerged.

Columbus thought it had a handshake deal on terms with U.S. international Mix Diskerud, only for his father/agent, Paal, to demand more money at the last second, according to multiple sources. As of Wednesday, the MLS summer transfer deadline, the two sides were still trying to work out a deal but had yet to reach one. A similar situation happened in early 2013 when Diskerud nearly joined Portland, only for talks to break down late in the game.

Columbus sits atop the MLS allocation order, giving them first crack at any U.S. international that signs with the league but does not meet the undisclosed contract price determined by MLS - see Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey.

Last week Berhalter indicated that he had contact with a significant U.S. player who was interested in coming to Columbus.

"What we're trying to do here is representing a club that players want to come to and they want to play the type of soccer we play and they want to get treated the way we're treating players and that's positive in my eyes," he said. "I think we'd be in contention for anyone coming back.

"I'm not going to say names, but I got a call yesterday by a guy who wanted to specifically come to Columbus. A big National Team player and I thought that was interesting. All of a sudden we're getting calls that people are coming to us."

It is possible this call was in regards to Diskerud, if Wahl is to be believed.

Diskerud's contract with Rosenburg runs through the end of 2014 and the Crew could potentially sign him on a pre-contract. This would bring the American to Columbus, but not until the 2015 season.

The transfer window closes today, though it is unclear what time the MLS window closes. Taylor Twellman indicated on Twitter that it is 5:00 EST.

MLS window closes today so any chance to loan Yedlin back to Seattle after transfer becomes official would have to happen before 5pm EST.

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) August 6, 2014

Massive Report will provide updates as they occur so stay tuned.

Update

Both Taylor Twellman and Kyle McCarthy are reporting that the Crew had a Designated Player deal in place with Diskerud before talks broke down last minute.

Cannot fault Columbus if Diskerud deal falls apart. Crew tabled lucrative offer to make him DP. #mls

— Kyle McCarthy (@kylejmccarthy) August 7, 2014

Confirmed: Diskerud had a deal done with @ColumbusCrew and last minute "requests" from father has put that deal in serious serious jeopardy.

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) August 7, 2014

Anthony Precourt announces on Twitter that the Mix Diskerud deal is dead.

Really wanted Mix in Columbus. We gave it everything, so as disappointed as we are, we didn't leave anything on the table. #Crew96

— Anthony Precourt (@APrecourt) August 7, 2014

It was reported that Columbus offered Diskerud, who currently makes just over $300k per year, a deal in the range of $1 million per year.