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The first description Craig Waibel went for after finally being able to unmask the mystery player he's been after these last three months, was how exactly Juan Manuel Martinez could fit it in at Real Salt Lake. If you've watched RSL lately, it should come as no surprise that the technical director voiced his frustration with the team's inability to keep and maintain purposeful possession, a staple of the club for the last seven years.

"We've got to get the ball back on the ground," he said. "We've had games where we connect over 470 passes and we've had games where we've connected less than 300 — and it's not always our opponent's pressure."

Hence, another summertime signing.

Martinez, a technical player who can play multiple positions, is expected to provide consistency to various positions in the RSL starting lineup once he acclimates himself to his new club. A player who spent the last 13 years playing at high levels in South America — the last three at Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors — is an upgrade for any club in Major League Soccer.

He'll also be RSL's newest Designated Player. The club utilized the newly-implemented targeted allocation money mechanism to diminish the salary cap impact of RSL captain Kyle Beckerman, opening up a DP slot.

"We used a small portion of our TAM money," Waibel said.

The move took some time. Each week since late June, Waibel's regular stint on ESPN700 or interviews with various media members involved tidbits, but nothing set in stone. The front office was in talks with as many as six players during the summer transfer window, Martinez included. A question that continued to pop up between the RSL braintrust was: "What's the biggest piece we need right now?"

"Obviously that's up to opinion, because I think there's an easy argument that we need more than one piece right now," Waibel explained. "Whenever you're in a bad spell, it seems like you need a lot of pieces. The process of getting him was quite simple: We identified our priority list and went after it and Juan was on that list. Everything worked out."

This was Waibel's first summer transfer window as the man in charge. He said it is normal to field calls from agents and representatives in the months leading up to the window opening and in the timeframe in which clubs can negotiate with players in contract.

"But," he joked, "that doesn't mean that when I reach out to them, they call right back, either. A lot of time it takes a little while to get through the right contacts. Juan was an Argentinean playing at Boca Juniors. Figuring out a way to get in touch? That's not the easiest things at times."

RSL initially approached Boca Juniors about Martinez's services three months ago, Waibel said. The deal took some time to iron out, which didn't come as a surprise to Waibel.

"There's little nerves that come out," he said. "We got really close a couple times, there were a few little details, and each time I would tell you they were very minor details in the big picture, but at the moment, they seemed greater than they are. Little bumps along the way. I think if you talk to anyone across the league, those happen. I think the best way to have someone come in at the very beginning of the transfer window is to have it done a month early."

MLS franchises still have a month to add pieces. Clubs can sign out-of-contract players until the MLS roster freeze on Sept. 15. Is RSL done for the time being or is Waibel still scouring the globe?

"For now it'll be continue to evaluate and really have a nice look at what we need to do in January," he said. "First things first, we need to get healthy. At the brief moments where this group has been healthy this year, we've played really good, attractive and effective soccer. Unfortunately we haven't got to see much of that. If we can find a way to get healthy and the nagging injuries can go away, adding a player like Juan is not adding depth, it's adding quality.

"Juan's the guy for me that kind of shores up what we're doing right now, and we need to take a really, really good look at how we go forward."

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani