Wednesday’s Links: Mexican press declares Chicharito to LA Galaxy is done

If Chicharito is bound for the LA Galaxy, is there any fear of failure?

I’m a huge fan of the forward, always have been. But you can’t deny he’s seemingly been on one long slide since his second year at Bayer Leverkusen. Does he still have it?

Most likely, yes, of course. The Mexican has always been underrated as a forward who is a pure scorer but also coheres well with his team and is a battler.

Still, are you worried at all Chicharito would be more Gio than Jonathan with the Galaxy? Or is there no doubt he would be successful in MLS?

Here’s the news for this Wednesday morning:

• The latest on Chicharito: Late on Tuesday, the Spanish-language press began declaring Chicharito’s signing by the LA Galaxy is done.

• Unsurprisingly, word spread like wildfire, although English-language outlets, like Corner of the Galaxy, said it wasn’t yet a done deal. By the time you read this, there could be another big turn in this biggest of transfer sagas! Wait and see.
• About the Vermeer report: Turns out, they were talking about the other local team. Initial reports claimed Kenneth Vermeer was bound for a California MLS team, then it changed to the Galaxy, and now it’s moved to LAFC. In many respects, that makes sense, the Galaxy have David Bingham and LAFC are looking for a starter. So consider that transfer rumor chalked off for LA.
• More Victoria Block progress: A day after a video emerged of drone footage of updates to DHSP, the Galaxy released a sizzle reel of construction, featuring boomerang shots, a drill and other progress being made on Victoria Block, the new safe-standing section.

• Vela wants Chicharito (in Los Angeles): Carlos Vela plays for the other team in town, but he’s down to have Chicharito with the Galaxy, as he told reporters at LAFC preseason training on Monday.

• The story behind the Zlatan statue: If you’ve heard of the various ways Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s statue in Sweden has been vandalized since the former Malmo player bought into rival team Hammarby, this profile in The Athletic offers a deep dive into why exactly people have been so worked up enough to splash acid on it, cut off the nose, saw it off at the ankles...
• CBA negotiations update: Yahoo’s Doug McIntyre spoke to Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush, a team rep for the MLSPA, about the ongoing CBA negotiations. tl;dr: Bush sounds optimistic, but the players are still gearing up in case there’s a work stoppage, with their deadline being Feb. 29. That is the day, of course, when the Galaxy are scheduled to open the season, at the Houston Dynamo. Stay tuned!

Today’s question: Are you at all worried Chicharito may not score 40 goals in MLS in his first season? All fears unfounded? Leave a comment below...we want to hear from you!