Nicolas Lodeiro showed he’s worth every penny in Sounders debut

It’s always hard to meet, much less exceed, expectations in sports, because so often the money and hype involved in a big signing is unrealistically inflated and unwieldy.

It has been revealed that the Sounders’ big signing of Nicolas Lodeiro cost $6 million – $2 million more than Obafemi Martins, but $3 million less than Clint Dempsey. In the grand scheme of MLS, it was the fifth-largest transfer fee of all time. So $6 million is a pretty big deal, even if it does pale in comparison to the highest transfer fee in all of world soccer: Welsh winger Gareth Bale, who was bought by Real Madrid in 2013 for a fee believed to be more than $113 million.

Nevertheless, in the context of MLS, Lodeiro comes to Seattle with all that weight, making it a risk for the Sounders. But it also made it a risk for the player. What if he wasn’t as good as everyone thought he was? Even Lodeiro, who came to Seattle with a solid pedigree and a fairly impressive highlight reel, isn’t exactly a household name in world soccer. The Sounders front office has been singing his praises since the moment he stepped off the plane at SeaTac last week, however, with sporting director Chris Henderson saying that Lodeiro is “a player who can change the game at any moment.”

“He has great energy, technical ability in tight spaces, he’s good with both feet, fantastic left foot on free kicks, and he has a winning mentality,” Henderson said.

While it’s admittedly hard to glean too much about a player from a single match days after signing, I think Lodeiro’s performance in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with LA deserves some praise. The Uruguayan was in the middle of things very early in the match, and he even looks to already have a bit of chemistry with some of his teammates. He put Jordan Morris in on goal more than once, and the rookie forward should have done better with at least one chance – he took a little too long to make a decision in front of goal, and LA’s Jelle van Damme was able to slide in and block Morris’ point-blank shot. Lodeiro’s through balls were excellent all around, and with more chemistry with the teammates that fit his skill set, he’ll be racking up assists in no time.

Lodeiro himself had a couple of great opportunities on goal too, including one particular shot that went just wide – on TV and in the stadium, it definitely looked like it had gone into the net. He’s not known for his goal scoring, but to even get the looks that he did against the best defense in MLS says quite a bit. Your average MLS defense will not be as stout as LA’s, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Lodeiro is able to get himself into that position much more often against lesser sides.

It wasn’t Lodeiro’s fault that LA equalized – that blame goes on Brad Evans, Tyrone Mears and Stefan Frei – and he did just about all he could to help his team get back in front. A big reason that the Sounders couldn’t get more than a point in the match was that the lineup that interim head coach Brian Schmetzer sent out against LA didn’t do his team, or Lodeiro, any favors. Things shifted around and substitutes were made, but the starting XI was set up in kind of a weird way that tried to shoehorn too much into it. Lodeiro started in a kind of left-midfield role, though he often drifted more central (his best position) and did most of his damage from a position somewhere in between.

Schmetzer absolutely must put Lodeiro in a central attacking role that allows him to drift wherever he feels comfortable and dangerous. Forcing him to play left seemed like yet another attempt to make the Sounders a crossing team that suits DP striker Nelson Valdez. But here’s the thing: Lodeiro was effective playing a style that suited him (technical, passes to feet, through balls) in just his first appearance, while Valdez continued his trend of being almost entirely useless, even when the Sounders tried to get him the ball in ways supposedly suited to him. Seattle has tried to be a crossing team for all of 2016, seemingly rooted in playing to Valdez’s style. But it has the second-most inaccurate crosses in all of MLS with 356 on the year. The Sounders do have the fourth-most accurate crosses (119), but have only scored five goals directly from crosses. This probably means it’s not a great strategy.

As the Sounders head to Orlando next weekend, Schmetzer needs to do more of what works: get Lodeiro the ball in advanced attacking positions, position and coach his strikers in a way that allows them to get Lodeiro’s service, and stop hoofing and crossing the ball to Valdez. Actually, just leave Valdez on the bench. Or at home. Let Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris benefit from the kind of creativity that they thrive on, which just happens to be their new signing’s best skill.

Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.