Xolos Target Ecuadorian International Miller Bolaños

Friday the Tijuana Xolos achieved their first win of the Liga MX season under Eduardo Coudet.

The win marked a massive momentum shift within the club as things are starting to shape up for the border city team.

Just a couple of weeks ago the team had not won a game and Paul Arriola had departed Club Tijuana for a move to D.C. United in the MLS. Now the Xolos finally have that elusive first win and are even making moves on the transfer market.

Friday it was announced that Juan Manuel Iturbe was making the move from Italian team AS Roma over to the Xoloitzcuintles. Apart from Iturbe, another name was floating around as Eduardo Coudet said in his post-match news conference that there are also negotiations for Miller Bolaños. Coudet said, “Regarding Miller Bolaños, the front office is progressing very well and in a lot of places the transfer window is open until the first few days of September. We need to finish reinforcing the team.”

Bolaños, 27, has been playing in Brazil with Gremio since 2016 and this season has eight goals in 17 appearances in all competitions. The Ecuadorian midfielder started his career in his home country and stayed there until 2012. Bolaños played with Barcelona de Guayaquil and LDU Quito before making a move to the MLS with Chivas USA.

From his spell at Chivas USA, the 5-foot-7 player earned a huge move to arguably the best team in Ecuador, Emelec, which has produced several Liga MX stars. Bolaños played with Emelec from 2013-2015, having tremendous success, scoring 44 goals in 76 appearances. This attracted attention from Brazilian team Gremio, and now the Xolos are in for the Ecuadorian international. Bolaños has had a decent track record representing his country as well, scoring eight goals in 20 appearances for the Ecuadorian national team.

The 27-year-old would now be making a nice transition in his career to the highly competitive Liga MX. This could prove to be a challenging task for the South American midfielder, but based on his success, mostly with his country, he should be able to adapt quite well. Bolaños is an attacking midfielder who can also play on the wings. He has decent speed and good dribbling abilities.

The Ecuadorian can inclusively play as a striker and does have very good finishing abilities, proving to be a versatile player. While the move seems a bit unnecessary, the midfield was very stagnant and almost nonexistent before this last game against Santos Laguna. Bolaños could certainly be a spark in that midfield with his offensive capabilities and help the team to stay consistent going forward. The Xolos, who already seem to have a tremendous amount of depth, will have an even deeper squad in case any suspensions or injuries flourish.

Francisco Velasco

Francisco, 26, Chula Vista/Tijuana. I have been a Padres fan all my life, did most of the series previews and recaps in the Padres’ 2016 season for EVT. Now I focus more on the local soccer scene. Tijuana Xolos, San Diego Loyal, San Diego Wave.