Liga MX side Club Tijuana is in advanced talks to sign Minnesota United midfielder Emanuel Reynoso, sources briefed on the talks tell The Athletic.
Sources stress nothing is agreed or signed yet. CL Merlo of Superdeportivo first reported Tijuana’s pursuit of Reynoso.
Reynoso recently returned to Minnesota after staying in Argentina without the team’s permission. It was his second, extended unexcused absence in as many seasons.
The Athletic reported last month that Reynoso was expected to depart Minnesota this summer via a transfer or some other way.
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Emanuel Reynoso's Minnesota United absence could result in a summer transfer
Reynoso has appeared in only one game this season, with absences first due to injury and then due to him not returning from a March 25 trip to Argentina for a green card meeting.
Minnesota — both privately and publicly — insisted they were focused only on the players who have shown up. El-Ahmad said in a statement that “our entire focus is on the players and staff who are here” when Reynoso’s latest absence came to light. Captain Michael Boxall described that feeling in stronger terms.
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“I think we’ve all kind of moved on,” Boxall told the Pioneer Press. “I don’t even know if anyone actually knows what the situation is. I think he’s made decisions that kind of shows everyone around here that he doesn’t care too much about the club.”
In 2023, Reynoso never turned up for preseason, and ultimately arrived four months late in the midst of the season. That time around, there was a real desire for the club to bring him back and reintegrate him quickly. Club executives and people in Reynoso’s professional circle took many trips to Argentina to convince him to return. That came with many missed flights and broken promises, too.
This winter, Reynoso had a fresh start with new leadership. Khaled El-Ahmad took over as sporting director then Eric Ramsay as head coach, and the team is currently overperforming expectations without Reynoso.
(Photo: Lyndsay Radnedge/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
