Agudelo to Celtic and the Transfer Market Consequences

It's no secret Chivas USA's Juan Agudelo is an ambitious player, even if he shows a bit of typical 20-year-old foolishness in his attempts to further his career.

So it should come as no surprise that when Celtic come knocking (again) that the mercurial striker is, apparently, receptive to the idea.

When the Agudelo-to-Celtic rumors first surfaced in November, our SBNation colleagues over at The Goat Parade were nonplussed by the idea but with their new manager openly admitting the Los Angeles-incarnation of Chivas is little more than a feeder system for the Guadalajara version to get it's hands on Mexican-American players it's not completely insane to think Agudelo (Columbian-born, American-raised and declared for the USMNT) will be moving on. You know, aside from his pretty clear desire to do so.

If Agudelo gets his wish -- which wouldn't be completely shocking -- the Red Bulls do get a nice chunk of allocation money, negotiated in Chivas' "offer Erik Soler couldn't refuse" from the spring. And with the Red Bulls still in roster-building mode, that money could go a long way.

Since the details of the league's personnel budget structure are less-than-transparent, we don't know how much allocation money the Red Bulls lost in exchange for Jamison Olave and Fabian Espindola and how much they gained shipping Sebastien Le Toux back to the Philadelphia Union. Is it enough to buy down Kenny Cooper's salary to a more manageable level?

If it is, that allocation money can go toward bringing in another midfielder who can challenge for first team minutes, since as of right now, the midfield is looking a little thin and Lloyd Sam isn't without injury concerns.

On Andy Roxburgh's shopping list should be three midfielders, one of whom who can step in capably now, cover for Dax McCarty in the defensive midfield and someone who can fill in on the wings.

Not all of these are mutually exclusive. A winger who can play wide in a 4-3-3 or a 4-4-2 with skill to make an impact now would be great. Or a central midfielder with potential who could get spot duty here and there a la Connor Lade would go a long way. Cover for McCarty in front of the back line is the only place the team could potentially make a bargain buy.

Some of this could be fixed in the draft if the Red Bulls find a player with their early second round pick. Despite the old regime's aversion to the draft, they found both Tim Ream and Ryan Meara in the second round. If the Ricardo Campos-Mike Petke duo (who almost certainly have to be running the draft board) think they've found a solid player with that pick, the Red Bulls might even be able to pocket that allocation money to fill a need over the summer.

That's assuming Agudelo actually leaves for Celtic...