FC Dallas close to signing Maarten Paes from FC Utrecht

According to U.S. media reports, FC Dallas is close to finalizing the transfer of Maarten Paes, FC Utrecht's goalkeeper who plays in the Eredivisie, the top Dutch league. 

The Major League Soccer club has been looking for a replacement for Phelipe Megiolaro, who was the club's goalkeeper last season, and who returned to Brazil this year to play for Gremio. 

According to the sports portal 90 minutes, the player will join the Texan club on loan with an option to buy, although he is not the only goalkeeper on their radar. 

Apparently, FC Dallas also wants to sign Spanish goalkeeper Cristian Rivero from Valencia, who would also arrive on loan for 18 months with an option to buy, although this move has not been made official by the team either. 

According to what was reported by journalist Chris Smith, Paes will join the Cowboys and it seems that negotiations are on the right track.

Maarten Paes' numbers that caught FC Dallas' eye

Paes is a 23-year-old goalkeeper who has made 61 appearances for FC Utrecht, all as a starter and has also made 30 saves on shots on goal from inside the box. 

Not only that, but he has also saved 1 penalty kick, and in ball circulation, he is also very good as 72 percent of his passes have been successful. 

The young Dutch goalkeeper is also good in long passes and 51 percent of his passes have reached a good destination, and he is also very safe in his area, as in this zone, his passes reach 86 percent, which can give FC Dallas security if his transfer is completed. 

The player also has international experience in his country's youth national teams, specifically in the U21, U20, and U19 teams, although he has not yet been called up to the senior national team. 

Despite his young age, Paes already has experience in the top circuit of Dutch soccer, as in the 2017-18 season he acted as Joris Delle's backup goalkeeper at N.E.C.

Later, on April 4, 2018, he signed with Utrecht on a three-year contract with an option for a fourth year. That allowed him to make his Eredivisie debut for Utrecht on August 19, 2018, in a match against PEC Zwolle

Paes to join FC Dallas' new reinforcements

If the arrival of the Dutch goalkeeper is confirmed, he would join the reinforcements that FC Dallas has added in recent weeks. 

For starters, the club added six players in the 2022 SuperDraft in which it has placed its hopes to develop them and debut them in the first team. 

In SuperDraft 2022 the club selected Isaiah Parker (3rd overall, Saint Louis University), Lucas Bartlett (6th overall, St. John's University), and Katlego "Tsiki" Ntsabeleng (28th overall, Oregon State University) in the first round.

And in the third round of the draft, they selected Alec Smir (62nd overall, University of North Carolina), Chase Niece (66th overall, Saint Louis University), and Holland Rula (87th overall, Wake Forest University). 

In addition to these new players, the club also added defender Nanu, who arrived from Porto, with experience in the Portuguese First Division where he also played for Marítimo. 

These additions come a few weeks after the departure of Ricardo Pepi, the USMNT's promising young player who left for FC Augsburg in the Eredivisie to try his luck in European soccer.