After weeks of speculation, DC United announced on December 18th, 2016, that they were bringing in José Guillermo Ortiz on loan from Alajuelense (a Costa Rican club). A 24 year old striker with 33 goals in 140 caps, he’s been described as an intelligent striker with great poaching instincts and a fantastic header, despite his 5 foot 8 inches height.
DC United, though, found great success with Patrick Mullins in his debut season with the club, and Alhaji Kamara played well in his extremely limited minutes. While a third striker option was needed, there was some concern by fans if Ortiz would be battling for a second spot or if he even had the track record to overtake Kamara (who granted, does have an unfortunate history of injuries and a heart condition).