Sounders forward Obafemi Martins is set to join Shanghai Shenhua less than two weeks before Seattle opens the 2016 season in the CONCACAF Champions League, according to a BBC Sport report Sunday morning.
Martins scored 40 goals in 72 MLS games, finishing second in the MLS Most Valuable Player voting in 2014. Seattle’s most consistent scorer since he joined in early 2013, the 31-year-old will join his ninth club if the deal goes through — though ESPN FC is reporting that the details are still being ironed out.
ESPN FC is also reporting that the transfer fee is not high enough to yield the Sounders allocation money in the deal, but Seattle will obtain clarity on its front line.