Reports: Real Salt Lake Reaches Verbal Agreement With Colombian Defender

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake and Colombian defender Brayan Vera reached a verbal agreement, according to multiple reports.

Major League Soccer insider Tom Bogert shared the news via Twitter on Saturday, February 4.

“Source: Real Salt Lake reach a verbal agreement with CD America de Cali for Colombian defender Brayan Vera. @cesaralo first reported. Nothing finalized yet, work to do,” Bogert tweeted. “Vera, 24, is a left back. He’s made 31 apps with the club, also spent time in Italy with Lecce and Cosenza.”

Source: Real Salt Lake reach a verbal agreement with CD America de Cali for Colombian defender Brayan Vera. @cesaralo first reported. Nothing finalized yet, work to do.

Vera, 24, is a left back. He's made 31 apps with the club, also spent time in Italy with Lecce and Cosenza. pic.twitter.com/zhEiXAOQ94

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) February 4, 2023

Vera currently plays for América de Cali in Categoría Primera A.

The San Luis, Colombia native has played for four clubs during his senior career, Leones, Lecce, Cosenza, and América de Cali.

"𝑀𝑖 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑜 𝑒𝑠 𝑞𝑢𝑒𝑑𝑎𝑟 𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑜́𝑛".

Brayan Vera seguirá vistiendo la camiseta de @AmericadeCali. 👹

¡El lateral izquierdo llegó para quedarse! 3️⃣0️⃣

🎞️ Suscríbete ya en https://t.co/jgZU7RPiIs para ver su capítulo en el #LockerRoom. pic.twitter.com/9jg1HkhZ39

— América de Cali (@AmericadeCali) December 19, 2022

Recent Real Salt Lake Move

If the verbal agreement comes to fruition, it would be Real Salt Lake’s second standout move for a Colombian player in recent weeks.

In January, RSL acquired winger Carlos Andrés Gómez, 20, from Millonarios FC. Gómez’s addition broke Real Salt Lake’s all-time record transfer fee. The acquisition is pending his visa status and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).

“This is an exciting day for our Club as we bolster a strong returning core with a dynamic attacking addition in Carlos Andres Gómez,” RSL general manager Elliot Fall said. “Andres is a player that quickly rose to the top of our target list over the last several months and we are very pleased to be able to finalize his acquisition. His athleticism and creativity will be a welcome addition to our stable of attacking players. We look forward to getting him to the Wasatch Front shortly and integrating him to our group as we pursue hardware across multiple fronts in 2023.”

The addition of Carlos Andrés Gómez to #RSL is exciting but the front office still has plenty of work remaining this offseason if the club is going to contend in 2023. @TomCantHackett writes ✍️https://t.co/jiUIXm2aJF

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 26, 2023

Gómez will join RSL during its 2023 preseason preparations via Major League Soccer’s U22 roster mechanism. Gómez arrives on the Wasatch Front under contract through the 2027 MLS season, with a player option for 2028.

Gómez scored 12 goals in 58 appearances during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns with Millonarios. Three of Gómez’s goals came during the Copa Colombia competition, for which he earned the tournaments Golden Boot award en route to the 2022 championship. He has spent the majority of his professional career playing on both the left and right-wing.

RELATED: Real Salt Lake Signs Homegrown Pair To First Team Roster

Gómez joins the likes of Anderson Julio, Justin Meram, Maikel Chang, and Jefferson Savarino, among others for competition in the attacking third. The club is still hopeful to sign a central striker following the departures of Bobby Wood and Sergio Cordova this offseason.

Real Salt Lake players reported for pre-season training in January 7. It remains unknown when Gómez will join Real Salt Lake, however, work visas usually take multiple weeks before applicants receive travel permission.