The Houston Dynamo’s busy week continued on Friday afternoon, when the club announced the signing of Honduras national team forward Romell Quioto from Honduran club CD Olimpia.
The Dynamo used targeted allocation money to acquire the 25-year-old Quioto. His signing was announced just one hour after Houston announced that they had traded striker Will Bruin to the Seattle Sounders.
Quioto is the third player signed by the Dynamo this week. Houston announced that they’d signed Honduran international forward Alberth Elis on Tuesday and Panamanian defenderAdolfo Machado on Wednesday. The club also selected Leonardo in Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft on Thursday – they’re required to offer the former Galaxy center back a contract by next Thursday.
Capable of playing on either wing or as a center forward, Quioto has four goals in 27 career caps with the Honduras national team, including three strikes in 2018 World Cup qualifying. He’s played with both Elis and Dynamo midfielder Boniek Garcia with Los Catrachos.
“We are pleased to secure the transfer of Romell Quioto to the Houston Dynamo. He is a player who is in the prime of his career and a constant threat to opposing defenses,” Dynamo GM Matt Jordan said in a statement released by the club. “We’ve added one of the top attacking talents in CONCACAF and a player whose speed, athleticism, and ability to score goals will be a welcomed addition to our attack as we build towards the 2017 season.”
Quioto joined Olimpia in January 2014, recording 36 goals in 78 appearances over three years with the club. He won the Liga Nacional Clasura championship with Olimpia in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Prior to joining Olimpia, Quioto played with Honduran club CS Vida and had a brief loan spell with Polish first division club Wisla Krakow.
He’ll join Elis, Mauro Manotas and Erick "Cubo" Torres on the Dynamo’s forward line.
“Romell is balanced and strong. He’s also a goal scorer and just like Alberth he is a starter for the Honduran national team,” Dynamo head coach Wilmer Cabrera said in the statement. “Romell plays on the left even though he is naturally a right-footed player. He has also played as a central forward and he is Olimpia’s goal scorer. He’s the type of player we need. Both Romell and Alberth bring a lot of creativity and speed to our front line and they can play in space, on the sideline, in a central position or from the midfield.”
