It seems that Dutch winger Rachid El Khalifi who headed back to his club yesterday maybe just made a trip to pick up more clothes, score a winning goal for his current/former team, and is now heading back to his future team (RSL). According to this Dutch article, he says "It went very well. The people at the club were also satisfied. There is already a two-year contract ready for me. This week I hope to hear the final go ahead".
The official response from RSL to this report was "RSL will not comment on existing or supposed contract negotiations under any circumstances". However, this is the standard response by the team until all the ducks are in a row. I will try to validate this report through other means.
He also goes on to say "The game is more physical here and there is more speed. I would like to go. It is a nice challenge."
If this pans out, El Kahlifi would fill a wide void that RSL had last season, and one of the weaknesses that exist across the league - the lack of a left-sided attacking player who can put good crosses into the box. From the highlight video of last weeks exhibition in Ventura, El Khalifi (#34) appears capable of taking the ball at opponents.
If RSL could solidify it's second forward spot, the team could turn out to be very potent on the attacking end. Last season the team proved to be fairly solid defensively (and this should continue to improve this season), and was able to control the midfield with the play of Will Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, Javi Morales and others.
UPDATE: A second source in Europe says that El Khalifi will leave next week to Salt Lake.
As a reminder, here are some highlight vids of El Khalifi.
Rachid El Khalifi from casal52 on Vimeo.
Rachid El Khalifi part 2 from casal52 on Vimeo.
