Photo credit: Colorado Rapids
20-year old signs U-22 contract through 2029-30 with club option for 2030-31
The Colorado Rapids’ retooling following some massive outbounds is underway.
The club announced the official acquisition of 20-year-old Israeli striker Sayed Abu Farkhi on Tuesday morning, just a day before the MLS secondary transfer window is set to close. Transferring from Maccabi Tel Aviv, Farkhi signed a U-22 contract through 2029-30 with a club option for the 2030-31 season. He’ll occupy an international roster slot.
The reported fee for Farkhi was $6 million plus add-ons, which would make him the second-highest inbound transfer fee in Rapids history behind Paxten Aaronson’s $7 million figure a year ago.
Sport5 in Israel reported that numerous other clubs in the U.S. and abroad were interested in Farkhi, including the Columbus Crew, Charlotte FC and the New York Red Bulls. He received interest from Italian clubs Terino, Bologna and Lecce, as well as Ligue 1 club AS Monaco.
Also according to Sport5, Farkhi will make $800,000 annually, which is on pace with current Rapids U-22 forward Darren Yapi ($795,000) and former Rapids U-22 Cole Bassett ($850,000 annually while with Colorado).
The report said the deal included a clause that gives Farkhi himself a percentage of his next transfer fee, should he depart from the Rapids for a fee in the future.
“We are delighted to bring Sayed to the club,” Rapids coach Matt Wells said in the club’s announcement. “At a young age he has already competed at a very high level and has experience of playing in big environments. His player profile is exactly what we look for within our attackers; he is constantly pressing the opponent, can link the play technically and attacks the box with aggression. He fits the model of the type of players we want to sign: young and hungry to achieve big things in the game. He is a player who has high ambitions and is on the way up in his career. I’m very excited to watch him become a fan favorite.”
He will have to wait for the P-1 visa process to join the team in a playing capacity. Depending on when that process started, the wait could span from one week to nearly a month. Youssef Maziz’s process was surprisingly quick after his signing was announced, but that was because the club had initiated the process a couple weeks prior.
Farkhi and his agent, Shahar Greenberg, have been in Colorado for the better part of a week as the deal has come closer to being finalized.
In 45 appearances in all competitions last season, Farkhi notched 12 goals and three assists, including in some big competitions for Maccabi, including Europa League qualifiers and domestic cups.
Farkhi has made appearances for every age group of the Israeli youth national program from U-16 to U-21 levels. Sources close to Farkhi told RMSJ he’s one of the best prospects the country has ever produced.
With the expected departure of Brazilian forward Rafael Navarro, Farkhi and Yapi will likely be in competition for his spot in the starting lineup. That will be an interesting battle as the season goes on.
With a day left in the transfer window, Colorado is finalizing a deal for Middlesbrough winger Morgan Whittaker, an extremely talented inverted right winger to replace Dante Sealy, who was traded back to CF Montréal last week. The transfer fee for Whittaker, 25, is reported to be the largest in Rapids history, though the number hasn’t yet been disclosed.
The Rapids are reportedly in talks for one more attacker in addition to Whittaker and are hopeful to get it over the line before the window closes.
