Paxten Aaronson, Rapids in advanced talk for deal, source says

The Colorado Rapids aren’t flinching in the midst of a wild summer transfer window.

The club is in advanced talks to sign U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Paxten Aaronson from Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, a source told The Denver Post on Tuesday.

The source added that while a transfer fee isn’t finalized, it could be a club record that surpasses current Rapids forward Rafael Navarro’s $3.5 million mark. Whatever the number turns out to be, most of the funds will come from the club-record $8 million sale of Djordje Mihailovic earlier this month to Toronto.

Aaronson, 21, started his career as a Philadelphia Union product before moving on to Frankfurt, where he went on loan to multiple Dutch clubs to get playing time. He impressed in the Eredivisie, particularly as a member of Utrecht last season, where he scored eight goals and provided four assists in 33 matches.

Last Sunday, he scored as a late sub in a 5-0 rout of Engers in the first round of the German domestic cup DFB-Pokal.

Aaronson returned to Frankfurt after his loan, seemingly ready to make the step toward regular minutes in the Bundesliga, but instead may end up back in the MLS. It’s unclear what type of roster slot he’d occupy, but it’s possible he’d take the Designated Player slot Mihailovic vacated.

Aaronson is on the brink of good minutes with the USMNT, too. He appeared in two Concacaf Gold Cup matches, including a start with his brother, Brendan, in a group stage loss to Switzerland. That makes the move a bit puzzling, given the drop-off in competition and quality from the Bundesliga to the MLS.

Should the move be finalized and made official, not only will the Rapids have broken inbound and outbound transfer fee records, but they will also exit a turbulent transfer window with a new face of the franchise.

The window started with the departure of center back Chidozie Awaziem, who was the Rapids’ best defender at the time. Multiple players went out on loan, then another DP (Kévin Cabral) was waived by the club. The biggest bombshell was Mihailovic’s surprise transfer request, which the Rapids complied with and received a major paycheck in return.