This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The rapid retooling at Real Salt Lake continued Friday.
A day after RSL and striker Sebastian Jaime cut a deal to mutually part ways, then announced the signing of 27-year-old Nigerian midfielder 'Sunny' Obayan, the club announced Friday afternoon it signed forward Emery Welshman to a first-team contract.
Players reported for their 2016 entrance physicals Friday to kick off the start to the 2016 preseason.
A first-round MLS SuperDraft pick by Toronto FC in 2013, Welshman spent the 2015 season with Real Monarchs during the club's inaugural USL campaign. The 24-year-old Canadian whose seen time with the Guyanese national team is the first player to sign with RSL from the Monarchs.
"We view the Monarchs as an in-house development system and take great pride in announcing Emery as the first player to move through our system and into the first team," RSL general manager Craig Waibel said in a release.
Welshman scored six goals in 19 appearances with the Monarchs in 2015, second-most of any player on the roster. His path back to MLS was a winding one, after making just one regular-season appearance with Toronto FC before moving on to play with Sigma FC, a third division Canadian club. Welshman started his college career at Siena before moving onto Oregon State University in 2011 and 2012.
Welshman was a preseason invite to train with RSL last year before he eventually signed with the Monarchs.
In 2015, he made his Guyana debut scoring three goals in five matches, including two in a World Cup qualifying match against St. Vincent & the Grenadines.
"Emery deserves a lot of credit as he did everything asked of him over the past year," Waibel said. "He matured and accepted the challenges given to him by the staff and in the end persevered to end the season on a very strong run. We are extremely happy for Emery to be the first player to take advantage of his opportunities and look forward to his contributions with the first team in 2016."
He'll join a revamped forward corps now headlined by Yura Movsisyan, whom RSL re-introduced to the media and fans on Tuesday afternoon in downtown Salt Lake City. Welshman will be competing for minutes alongside Joao Plata, Burrito Martinez, Olmes Garcia and Devon Sandoval.
Updated tracker on RSL's roster situation:
In:
» Forward Yura Movsisyan, former RSL striker returned on a 1-year loan from Spartak Moscow
» Midfielder 'Sunny' Obayan, Nigerian midfielder signed to deepen depth at center of the midfield
» Forward Emery Welshman, Monarchs striker who transitioned to the first team
» Defender Danilo Acosta, 18-year-old Homegrown defender/midfielder
» Midfielder Omar Holness, RSL's first-round pick out of UNC on a Generation adidas deal
» Defender Max Lachowecki, RSL's second-round draft pick out of Notre Dame
» Midfielder Amass Amankona, third-round pick out of Dayton
» Goalkeeper Connor Sparrow, fourth-round pick out of Creighton
Out:
» Sebastian Jaime, club mutually parted ways with the former DP who returned to play in Chile
» Sebastian Saucedo (loan), Park City native headed to Veracruz on loan for 2016
» Luis Gil, longtime midfielder signed with Mexican club Queretaro F.C. on a free transfer
» Luis Silva, signed with Tigres UANL, who RSL faces in the Champions League quarterfinal
» Elias Vasquez, club declined option on Guatemalan center back
» Pecka, club declined option on Brazilian midfielder
» Chris Schuler, talented, but injury-prone center back is out-of-contract at RSL
Re-signed:
» Javier Morales, club's long-shining midfield creator was re-signed in late November
» Jamison Olave, center back who turns 35 was retained after an up-and-down year in 2015
» Demar Phillips, left back re-signed after appearing in just 18 regular-season matches a year ago
» Phanuel Kavita, Highland High and RSL-Arizona academy product saw time in 18 Monarchs matches in 2015
-Chris Kamrani
Twitter: @chriskamrani