Everton and U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Tim Howard are nearing a deal with the Colorado Rapids, per Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC.

Despite his recent struggles in the Premier League, Howard would instantly become one of MLS' top shot-stoppers. However, this is still a curious move by the Rapids.

Colorado finished last in Major League Soccer's Western Conference in 2015, although the Rapids defense was formidable. They conceded 43 goals, which was less than Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy, who both made the playoffs.

This still did not stop the Rapids from trading goalkeeper Clint Irwin to Toronto FC. Defender Drew Moor also joined TFC via free agency. Both players were defensive pillars for the past few seasons.

Those two departures weren't even Colorado's strangest decisions. Homegrown defender Shane O'Neill was sold last August.

Deshorn Brown, who led the Rapids in goalscoring in 2013 and 2014, transferred to Norwegian club Valerenga in March 2015. He scored 20 goals over those two seasons. The Rapids finished the 2015 campaign with 33.

The likes of Kevin Doyle and Luis Solignac arrived last summer to provide a scoring boost, but it wasn't enough.

The Rapids were a playoff team under ex-head coach Oscar Pareja in 2013. They were a young and exciting side with a real future. Nearly three years later, there is no identity and Dick's Sporting Goods Park is virtually empty.

Colorado's average attendance was the lowest in MLS last season, per Paul Kennedy of Soccer America. The number increased from 2014, but it still wasn't sufficient enough to surpass the Chicago Fire.

This is why the Rapids are trying to sign a marquee player.

Colorado was reportedly interested in United States international Alejandro Bedoya and Mexican forward Alan Pulido, according to Goal.com's Ives Galarcep.

However, Bedoya rejected a return to MLS, and Pulido ruled out a transfer to the U.S., per Mexico-based radio station RG 690 (via Mexican soccer journalist Eric Gomez):

Bedoya and Pulido would have been perfect signings for a dull and listless Colorado attack. The Rapids have since acquired Marco Pappa, Zach Pfeffer and Shkelzen Gashi, which should stimulate the offense.

However, the Rapids are still scrambling to sign a big-name star to attract fans to the stadium.

According to Carlisle, Howard will be paid $2 million a year, which would make him one of the 15 highest-paid MLS players. Colorado also has to pay Everton a fee between $600,000 and $750,000.

Considering the Rapids had Irwin, who is a more-than-capable goalkeeper, this just makes the Howard chase all the more peculiar.

The investment may pay off for the Rapids if this fills the stadium. However, if the team continues to struggle on the field, the fans will likely not show up.

This is not a slight on Howard. His relationship with Everton is waning, and his agility is lacking these days, but the American is still a quality goalkeeper who would excel in MLS.

The main issue is the Rapids addressing a problem they did not have, even after they traded Irwin.

Zac MacMath is a solid young goalkeeper who is a formidable starter. The 24-year-old faced as many shots (125) as Irwin in 2014 and made more saves (77) in 2014, per the official MLS website.

Colorado traded Marcelo Sarvas to D.C. United, even though the Rapids desperately need a quality deep-lying midfielder.

Pappa, Pfeffer, Dillon Serna and Dillon Powers are all attack-minded players. Meanwhile, the likes of Jared Watts and Sam Cronin pale in comparison to Sarvas. This is where Colorado should spend the money, not on a 36-year-old goalkeeper.

Winning is the ultimate formula to fan popularity. The only way of ensuring a successful product on the field is by addressing the team's weaknesses. Goalkeeper is not one of them.

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The 21st season of action in Major League Soccer is expected to be as wild and unpredictable as years past with almost all of the 20 teams set to contend for the postseason. 

Each of the clubs in MLS enters 2016 with plenty of promise thanks to certain players who are poised to have breakout campaigns over the next nine months. 

With that in mind, we selected 50 players across the league to watch in 2016. Some of the players are rookies looking to make a statement, while others are working their way back from injury and hoping for a big 2016. 

There are also a few superstars of the league on this list who are somehow going to try and top their spectacular 2015 campaigns. In additions to the first three types of players mentioned, a fourth group of athletes attempting to recover from disastrous 2015 seasons are included in this list. 

Continue reading to see who are our 50 players to watch in MLS in 2016. 

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The Washington Post's Steven Goff reported Monday that some members of D.C. United had their cellphones and cash stolen last week in Queretaro, Mexico, during the squad's CONCACAF Champions League match against Queretaro F.C.  

"S--t happens down there," manager Ben Olsen said, per Goff. "It's upsetting that stuff like that still goes down in CONCACAF."

However, Queretaro F.C released a statement in Spanish, via Twitter, denying any phones were stolen from the stadium. ESPN FC's Tom Marshall provided a short summary:

Per Steven Streff of SB Nation's Black and Red United, the club will compensate the D.C. United players:

Olsen commended both CONCACAF and Queretaro F.C. for what he called a "very professional" response to the incident, per Goff.

Goal.com's Thomas Floyd added that no evidence points to either the club or match organizers having direct involvement in the robbery. Floyd countered, however, saying team members don't completely absolve Queretaro or CONCACAF of blame:

Recovering the phones will prove difficult. Floyd reported a D.C. United player used an iPhone app to locate his phone, which was roughly 130 miles away in Mexico City.

D.C. United lost the first leg 2-0 and will look to overcome the deficit at home Tuesday night. Should it move on to the semifinals, United will play either Real Salt Lake or Tigres UANL, who hold a two-goal advantage in their quarterfinal tie.

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The quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League opened on Tuesday and Wednesday with a quartet of disappointing results for the four MLS teams left in the competition. 

Even though D.C. United, Seattle, Real Salt Lake and the L.A. Galaxy all showed signs of promise at certain points of their respective matches, they all displayed the qualities of clubs still working their way through the preseason. 

Now as the four teams enter the return legs of their fixtures with clubs from Mexico, the outlook for an MLS side to remain in the competition is bleak at best. 

D.C. United set the unfortunate tone for MLS in the knockout round in the opening quarterfinal clash against Queretaro. The Black and Red, who fielded most of their first-team squad, held firm for 70 minutes before they were undone by Yerson Candelo's magnificent strike from the right side of the pitch. A second goal from Edgar Benitez and the failure to score on the road put D.C. in a precarious position heading into Tuesday's contest at RFK Stadium.  

Seattle showed plenty of promise on its home turf against Club America, but a few lapses led to a pair of away goals that will be hard to get back at the Estadio Azteca on Wednesday night. The good news for the Sounders is their attack looks somewhat functional, or least Clint Dempsey does, which is more than the other three MLS sides can boast. Dempsey carries plenty of big-game experience at the Azteca into the second leg, but the challenge of scoring two away goals and keeping a clean sheet may be too much for the Sounders. 

“I think Clint’s leadership is by how he performs on the field,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid told Cameron Rizzardini of SoundersFC.com. “What he gives the team, and his ability to hold onto the ball and connect passes for us. Being able to put his foot on the ball and slow it down for us at the right times and being there when the opportunity presents itself, to score goals. I think that’s the way he leads.”

Real Salt Lake suffered from the same fate as D.C. in their visit to Tigres. The Claret and Cobalt defended well for two-thirds of the match before the host Mexican side displayed its true quality and bagged a pair of tallies in the second half. Jeff Cassar's men stand a decent chance of advancing to the final four because of the home-field advantage they possess at Rio Tinto Stadium, but containing Andre-Pierre Gignac, Jurgen Damm and the rest of the Tigres attack will be a difficult task. 

“I have a lot of respect for them," Cassar said, per Matt Gaschk of RSL.com. "With that being said, we created a lot of chances tonight and showed what we are capable of. On a different night, we come out of here with a result that we wanted.”

Many people thought the L.A. Galaxy with all their star power could be the one MLS side to earn a positive result in the first leg. A 0-0 draw at home may not be considered positive given the chances Bruce Arena's side wasted, but it also isn't a terrible result. L.A. enters the second leg with the best chance of any MLS club to qualify for the semifinal round since it didn't let in any away goals at the StubHub Center. 

"It was a good game for us. We played really well," Giovani Dos Santos told LAGalaxy.com's Adam Serrano. "We showed all the people that we did a great job in the preseason, and we're very excited for the second leg."

Trying to spin these four results into a positive is a near impossible task, but you do have to give each team credit for at least being competitive for 60 to 90 minutes in each match. If a few chances bounced in the right direction for a few clubs, MLS would have a slight chance of challenging Liga MX for first place in the competition for the second straight year. 

But the harsh reality remains that the CONCACAF Champions League schedule favors Liga MX clubs, and the teams from south of the border have enough quality that helps them pounce in an instant. MLS is trying to get to that level with the influx of target allocation and other initiatives, but the league is still a few steps behind Liga MX, and that is completely fine for the 21-year-old league. 

"It’s a reality, we’re used to it, but it doesn’t set us up to succeed," D.C. boss Ben Olsen said of the schedule after his club's match, per the team's website. "It’s not an excuse, it’s just a reality. But until CONCACAF changes it, it’s the reality and we do our best. I think it will change but in the meantime we have to do what we can with what we have."

Going in as underdogs with nothing to lose next week may help the four MLS sides remaining in the tournament, but it isn't the tag the league wished they would carry after 90 minutes of the quarterfinal round.  

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

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The 2016 MLS season begins on March 6, headlined by the MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers hosting the Columbus Crew in a rematch of December's final.

Both sides will surely contend for the championship. However, MLS' parity usually produces a couple of surprise playoff teams.

We will analyze five dark-horse contenders in this slideshow. It consists of teams that missed the 2015 playoffs and underwent significant change to the front office, coaching staff or squad during the offseason.

Here are five clubs that can make a run in the postseason.

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Frank Lampard has revealed he has been trying to get his New York City FC team-mate and famed wine connoisseur Andrea Pirlo onto a different form of beverage...beer.

"I always try to get him a nice lager or a beer," Lampard told Shortlist (via the Sun). "He’s quite open to that but he is Mr Italian man, so loves his Italian restaurants, which there are a lot of in New York."

The two veteran midfielders have quickly become friends since trading Europe for the United States in 2015, often socialising with their families in the Big Apple.

"We spend time together with our other halves, go to dinner, share a glass or two of red wine. He owns a vineyard back in Italy, where he makes his own family wine, so he’s a bit of a connoisseur."

[h/t the Sun]

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Comedian and actor Will Ferrell appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday to discuss his part-ownership of new Major League Soccer franchise Los Angeles FC.

The Anchorman star introduced the audience to his simple but catchy chant for the team, before revealing he wants to help build the club's new stadium and that he hopes to base his ownership style around that of the late New York Yankees owner, George Steinbrenner.

LAFC, whose other part-owners include NBA legend Magic Johnson and former MLB star Nomar Garciaparra, hope to take part in MLS in 2018.

[YouTube]

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The Chinese Super League's blockbuster transfer market has crept its way into Major League Soccer. Seattle Sounders striker Obafemi Martins is closing in on a move to Shanghai Shenhua for around $3 million, per ESPN FC's Jeff Carlisle.

If the deal is confirmed, China's spending splurge will become a worry for MLS.

Both MLS and the CSL are considered to be up-and-coming leagues. Yet it is the latter that is rapidly growing into a top competition, despite starting in 2004.

Firstly, the CSL is snapping up players in their prime. Alex Teixeira was a Liverpool and Chelsea target, per Marcus Christenson and Thiago Rabelo of the Guardian. The Brazilian ended up signing with Jiangsu Suning and will earn around €10 million annually, per the Sport Bible.

Meanwhile, the highest-paid MLS player is Kaka at about $7.1 million, per the MLS Players Union.

The structures of both leagues are telling based on these figures alone. MLS' salary cap prevents the teams from signing more quality players. This is not the case in China.

Designated players, general and targeted allocation money allow for some flexibility. This has allowed Toronto FC to spend more in annual wages than any other MLS club at $22.7 million, per ESPN FC.

However, it's still an inadequate amount compared to the CSL.

Ezequiel Lavezzi was a reported MLS target last August. He was even offered a five-year, $17 million contract by an unnamed MLS team, per La Gazzetta dello Sport (via the official MLS website). Less than six months later, Lavezzi is set to earn €38 million over two seasons with Hebei China Fortune, per the Independent's Tom Sheen.

Every club loses out on a player due to wage demands, but this highlights the need for MLS to open its wallet and pay players what they deserve.

CSL teams are able to pay handsome salaries and transfer fees thanks to their wealthy owners and rich TV deal. For example, Chinese juggernaut Alibaba owns 50 percent of Guangzhou Evergrande. The Asian Champions League winners are now valued at around $1.6 billion, per Reuters.

MLS' most valuable club is the Seattle Sounders at $245 million, according to Forbes' Chris Smith.

The CSL television deal is worth around $1.25 billion over five years, which trumps MLS' eight-year, $720-million contract, per Philly.com's Jonathan Tannenwald.

MLS cannot let quality players depart for paltry sums. Martins has scored 40 goals in 72 appearances with the Sounders. Selling one of the league's best strikers for a small fee is unforgivable.

The only way to counteract this is by investing more money into grassroots development and towards player salaries to keep the league's elite in MLS.

Chinese soccer has thrived in both areas, especially the latter. The country has implemented long-term plans for grassroots development and promotes domestic players with its limit of four foreigners, plus one player from the AFC region, per team. MLS would be smart to adopt some of these rules.

The league already spends approximately $40 million on player development, per Matthew Futterman of the Wall Street Journal (via SoccerAmerica's Mike Woitalla). It's a start, but it's still too low.

Developing homegrown players is an area where MLS has to be successful. If it produces its own talent and increases the salary cap, the likes of Matt Miazga may choose to stay with their hometown clubs for a few more years.

MLS commissioner Don Garber told VICE Sports' Aaron Gordon that the league is committed to heavier investment in youth development:

We're spending more on youth development today than we were spending on our overall player budget five years ago. It is a massive focus for our league. Yesterday you had Matt Miazga who grew up in the shadows of Red Bull Arena, arguably one of the most exciting U.S. National Team prospects, and if not for the Red Bull Academy, he may not be playing at the level he is and he certainly would likely not be playing in the United States. We're going to continue to invest deeply in developing the best possible young players in our country with laser focus, and doing it both because I think it will help the growth of the sport in our country.

This will eventually lead to a better product on the field and a richer TV deal, which would significantly boost the league's credibility and popularity worldwide.

If MLS fails to complete either of these tasks, it can expect to see more of its top players being poached by Chinese teams.

Peter Galindo covers MLS and the U.S. men's national team for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @GalindoPW.

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The Seattle Sounders received news over the weekend that no club wants to hear less than a month before the regular season begins. The Sounders are expected to lose their leading scorer from 2015, Obafemi Martins, to Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League. 

The transfer shouldn't come as a major surprise given the recent spending power of the Chinese first division and the history Martins has. Before spending three years in Seattle, Martins bounced around between six different clubs in seven seasons. 

Having Martins stay in Seattle for three seasons has to be judged as a success given the player's propensity to go after a big payday. It must be noted Martins isn't officially gone as of this writing, but all signs are pointing to the transfer happening sooner rather than later. 

"I can tell you that Oba is not here with us for this phase of camp," Seattle general manager Garth Lagerwey told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle. "We've had an approach from a Chinese club for his services. It could take a while to have that resolved. There's really nothing else we can add at this point, but hopefully we know more by the end of the week."

With the Nigerian forward not around the team at the moment, the Sounders must find a way to replace the 40 goals and 23 assists recorded by Martins in his 72 regular-season matches with the club. Luckily for the Sounders, they have three players ready to take on more of the workload up top. Clint Dempsey, Nelson Valdez and rookie Jordan Morris will be tasked with producing for Sigi Schmid's side as they attempt to hunt down the elusive MLS Cup. 

The impending loss of Martins puts more pressure on the team as a whole as well. The Sounders were already under pressure to win the MLS Cup after their 2015 season ended in disappointing fashion and the rival Portland Timbers captured the crown in December.

Winning in the Western Conference is never an easy task, and that isn't expected to change in 2016 as perennial powers LA Galaxy, Sporting Kansas City and Real Salt Lake have revamped their rosters to contend for a championship once again. Add in the stacked rosters at FC Dallas, Vancouver and Portland and you have a conference that could produce a must-watch contest every weekend.

Seattle's task is not impossible if it loses Martins, but there will be plenty of gaps to fill and questions to answer. The biggest question looming over the Sounders is how they replace the chemistry that Dempsey and Martins built during their time together in Seattle. The cerebral understanding of each other's playing style made Dempsey and Martins such a good strike partnership when they were both healthy. 

Now Dempsey must try to discover a new chemistry with Valdez, Morris and whoever starts next to or behind him in Schmid's formation. The 32-year-old Valdez, who, like Martins, was a footballing vagabond before arriving in Seattle, will get the chance to start right away next to Dempsey. Valdez, who arrived last summer, should feel more comfortable in the league with a full offseason and preseason under his belt. 

But instead of being relied on to relieve Dempsey or Martins, Valdez will now become a focal point of the attack. The potential transfer of Martins also opens up more playing time for Morris and fellow homegrown player Darwin Jones. Both youngsters still need to prove their worth with the first team, but they have shown in the past at other levels that they are capable of finding the back of the net on a regular basis. 

Instead of easing into the lineup during early-season midweek MLS games and U.S. Open Cup contests, the young pair may be asked to provide critical minutes on the pitch as early as Tuesday's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Club America at CenturyLink Field. 

Forward won't be the only position the Sounders will look to get goals from in 2016, since they have a few players in midfield and defense who produce when called upon. Veterans Erik Friberg and Andreas Ivanschitz will be asked to do more moving forward, as well as 20-year-old Cristian Roldan, who could be poised for a breakout season in the middle of the park.

Seattle also made a vital addition to the squad in defense as it brought in left-back Joevin Jones from the Chicago Fire in January. With Jones and Tyrone Mears bombing forward from the defensive flanks, the Sounders will be able to exploit holes in opposing defenses at certain times of the game. 

Depth was never going to be a major issue for the Sounders entering 2016 with or without Martins. The concerns begin to grow when you look at who fills the positions on the depth chart. As we mentioned above, Morris and Darwin Jones have succeeded at lower levels, but they haven't been tested by the rigors of MLS. There is a good chance they will experience growing pains while Dempsey and Valdez work out the kinks in their new pairing up top. 

But despite all the growing pains that the Sounders could go through at the start of 2016, they still have to be in the championship conversation entering the regular season due to the well-rounded squad Schmid and Lagerway have built.

At a club like Seattle, one player doesn't make or break the team. If every player in the squad chips in to replace the production of Martins, we could see the Sounders near the top of the Western Conference as early as May or June, which would lead us to believe they will be one of the top sides to watch when the postseason rolls around. 

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

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Major League Soccer prides itself on parity, but when the championship is determined, there is a good chance a Western Conference team will pick up the trophy. 

Since the Columbus Crew captured the MLS Cup in 2008, six of the last seven MLS Cup champions and four of the seven Supporters' Shield winners have come from the Western Conference. The only Eastern Conference team to win the MLS Cup during that span was Sporting Kansas City, who now resides in the West, in 2013. 

As the 2016 season approaches, the West is still seen as the better conference, but there could be a chance that the East takes over the throne if certain things fall into place. 

The good news for the East entering the new season, which begins March 6, is it possesses a few teams that are capable of winning the MLS Cup. 

The New York Red Bulls, who have won two Supporters' Shields in the last three years, bring back the majority of last season's Shield-winning squad. With Bradley Wright-Phillips up top and Dax McCarty leading the midfield from his spot in front of the back four, the Red Bulls have the talent to finally get over the hump and win the championship. But their one big question will come in defense with Matt Miazga now at Chelsea. 

Speaking of defense, Toronto FC finally upgraded its back four with the offseason acquisitions of Drew Moor and Steven Beitashour. With an attack led by Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco firing on all cylinders, the Reds should be near the top of the standings all season long. 

Gregg Berhalter's Columbus Crew will also be seen as a favorite to qualify for the Cup out of the East due to the strength of their squad. If Kei Kamara and Ethan Finlay are half the players they were in 2015 over the next nine months, Columbus will be back in contention for the championship. 

But to be the better conference throughout the entire season, you need to have depth from position one to 10. The reason we bring this argument up is the improved quality of the teams at the East's cellar. Chicago and Philadelphia both improved their rosters over the offseason thanks to changes in the front office. Nelson Rodriguez and new manager Veljko Paunovic have made reasonable roster decisions for once in Chicago, while sporting director Earnie Stewart has brought in a new vision and identity in Philadelphia. 

Add in a New York City FC team with a full offseason together under its belt and a hungry Orlando City squad that just missed out on the postseason in 2015 led by reigning Rookie of the Year Cyle Larin, and we should witness a fierce battle for all six playoff positions in the East, just like we witnessed in the West in 2015. 

The one team holding down the strength of the West right now is the Colorado Rapids. Pablo Mastroeni's squad has had a questionable offseason to say the least. Key contributors Marcelo Sarvas, Clint Irwin, Vicente Sanchez and Moor have left, while very few proven starters have filled their places on the roster. Forward Shkelzen Gashi, who transferred to the Rapids from Basel, is expected to produce up top, but the rest of the starting 11 is far from a known quantity.

The same can be said about the pair of teams near the bottom of the West with second-year managers. Owen Coyle has made some improvements to his Houston squad, but the Dynamo may still go as far as Giles Barnes and Will Bruin take them. Chris Wondolowski may end up doing the same with the San Jose Earthquakes if the young core fails to progress in Dominic Kinnear's second year in charge.

A few perennial powers are also facing questions entering the new campaign. Real Salt Lake is under pressure to rebound from a tumultuous 2015, while the revamped L.A. Galaxy need to prove the critics wrong with an older lineup that will feature Steven Gerrard, Ashley Cole and Nigel de Jong.

FC Dallas, Vancouver, Seattle and Portland should be near the top of the West in 2016, while Sporting Kansas City should compete for a top playoff spot with its improved roster that features more depth than last season. However, the West may be too top-heavy if the clubs at the bottom of the table fail to improve.

Of course all that matters at the end of the season is who hoists the MLS Cup. Until the title is taken away from the West, it seems right to project one of the 10 teams from that conference to win it all in December. Plenty of pundits will pick FC Dallas, Vancouver, Seattle and even L.A. to challenge Portland's quest for a repeat. In the East, only the Red Bulls, Crew and Toronto are legitimate championship contenders.

It is still way too early to give a concrete answer to this question, but the offseason acquisitions by certain squads and the hunger to capture a title have brought the East closer to the West in terms of quality entering the league's 21st season. 

Joe Tansey covers MLS for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.  

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