TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Austin FC have signed winger Washington Corozo on a six-month loan from Peruvian top-flight side Sporting Cristal, the club announced Wednesday. The move includes a transfer option.
The 23-year-old Ecuadorian attacker spent the 2021-22 season on loan with Liga MX’s Pumas UNAM. He played in both legs of the 2022 Concacaf Champions League Final as Seattle Sounders FC became the first MLS side to win the regional tournament’s modern-day version.
“We’re delighted to welcome Washington to Austin,” sporting director Claudio Reyna said in a release. “We look at every transfer window as an opportunity to improve the squad, and feel that Washington’s dynamic skill set and speed in wide areas will do just that.”
While on loan at Pumas, Corozo had eight goals in 44 appearances across all competitions. He began his professional career with Independiente del Valle in his native Ecuador, helping them win the Copa Sudamericana in 2019 before joining Sporting Cristal and scoring eight goals in 28 matches as Cristal won the Peruvian Liga 1 title.
Corozo has been capped once by Ecuador, subbing into a Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifier vs. Paraguay in the early stages of La Tri's eventual successful path through Conmebol’s qualification process. He was a key piece in Ecuador's 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup side as well.
“Austin FC is an ambitious club, in a great city, with a terrific fanbase,” said Corozo. “I want to thank Claudio Reyna and [head coach] Josh Wolff for this opportunity, as well as my agent, and look forward to being a part of the club. I’ll give everything I have for Austin FC and can’t wait to step out under the lights at Q2 Stadium.”
Corozo should give Austin more options out wide alongside Diego Fagundez, Ethan Finlay, Rodney Redes and more.
ATX, in their second year, enter MLS Week 19 sitting second in the Western Conference and Supporters’ Shield races. They’re only behind LAFC in those tables; both teams are tied on an MLS-leading 35 goals.
Corozo’s deal comes as the league’s Secondary Transfer Window begins Thursday and runs through Aug. 4.
