[dropcap]S[/dropcap]illy Season is upon us! Â For the next month, all sorts of rumors about various players moving on from clubs will come out and most of the rumors will have absolutely zero merit. Â However, usually when Columbus is linked to a player, there’s a good reason for it.
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Video credit goes to Życie Skauta
A Spanish sports site that follows Real Betis has linked Columbus Crew SC with 22-year-old left back Cedrick.  Here is a rough translation of what the site says:
The footballer, who is currently in the ranks of CA Osasuna, has received an offer from American side Columbus Crew SC of MLS. Â Betis has given the OK to Osasuna for talks to begin.
The Congolese youngster Cedrick Mabwati, who is currently on loan from Real Betis, has received a succulent offer from the United States to join the MLS club in Ohio.
Both Real Betis and Osasuna would receive some form of compensation if the transfer were to go through, and word is that the player has given the OK to the transaction. Â Both clubs are waiting until the end of the transfer window as Cedrick is competing in the African Cup of Nations this month.
The speedy player will almost certainly be missed, having played 27 games and scored two goals in Navarre.
Let’s analyze the rumor from start to finish.
- The person reporting this, Christian Lopez, appears to be “in the know” and says that this is all but a done deal, but with the African Cup of Nations going on, nothing will be finalized until that tournament is over.
- Osasuna and Betis will both receive compensation as Cedrick is on loan and, with this move being permanent, Osasuna should receive some of the transfer fee, though percentages do not appear to have been discussed.
- The offer appears to be good enough for all parties.
Cedrick Mabwati of Real Betis is linked with Crew SC. Photo/Betis Mobi
So what do we know about Cedrick?
Cedrick is a versatile left-sided player, having played fullback, midfield, and wing.  He is insanely fast (think Dominic Oduro fast) and is a very skilled dribbler.  The weakness in his game appears to be positioning, as his speed often takes him out of his position quite a bit.
This move makes a ton of sense.  Betis are going through some financial difficulty in the second division of Spain and had to loan Cedrick out since Osasuna was willing to take on his wages, were are reportedly a yearly salary of €1,20 million ($1.44 million), though Betis does not have official information regarding this.  Transfermarkt has his current transfer value at €1,50 million ($1.8 million), but his contract is reportedly set to end this summer (There is no solid information regarding his contract, but most information says he hasn’t signed an extension) and Betis perhaps wants to cash in.  He will almost certainly go for less than his transfer value due to his expiring contract and this seems like a signing right up Gregg Berhalter’s alley:  A young midfielder from Europe that can slot in almost immediately into multiple positions.
Waylon Francis is the current left back for the Crew, and he had an excellent season in Columbus last year.  With the versatility that Cedrick brings to the table, this looks to be a depth move as Cedrick can play any number of positions on the field.
The African Cup of Nations starts up on January 17 and runs through February 8, so it appears that Betis and Osasuna are going to wait until the tournament gets towards the waning stages before making any official announcement if this rumor is true.  Congo may progress into the knockout stages of the tournament after receiving a favorable draw.  Burkina Faso will almost certainly win their group, but Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are not strong sides.  If Congo fails to advance out of the group stage, which ends on January 25, then expect the news to come shortly after that.
