Is Chicho Arango worth his Designated Player price tag for Real Salt Lake?

The 28-year-old Colombian forward will be introduced to RSL fans at halftime of the club's match Saturday against New York City FC.

Signed, sealed and delivered.

Real Salt Lake finalized the signing of Colombian forward Cristian “Chicho” Arango via permanent transfer announced Saturday, formalizing the return of the the former LAFC striker to Major League Soccer.

The 28-year-old forward signed a three-year deal, with an option for the 2026 season, that will make him eligible to suit up for the Claret-and-Cobalt beginning July 8 against Orlando City SC. He’ll be introduced to RSL fans at halftime of the club's match Saturday against New York City FC.

Arango will wear his customary No. 9 jersey for RSL, a number that was somewhat quietly “unretired” in honor of legendary club player and coach Jason Kreis in 2019 (and with the firm approval of the former New York City FC and Inter Miami coach, no less).

No pressure, right?

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Arango inked a $6 million deal with CF Pachuca after a breakout 2021-22 stint in Los Angeles, providing a baseline contract for RSL’s first designated player signing since Jefferson Savarino (and 11th all-time) was somewhere in the range of that salary.

So, is he worth the price tag?

In a word, yes.

Arango’s career has taken him to Europe and back since the native of Medellin, Colombia signed his first professional contract in his home country with Envigado FC. After stints with Valencia B in Spain and Benfica in Portugal, the goal-scoring magician erupted during his second stint with Millonarios, where he scored 21 goals in 53 appearances from 2019-21.

That caught the attention of MLS, where Arango made an immediate impact with LAFC in scoring 14 goals in 17 matches to win Newcomer of the Year honors in 2021.

He went on to score 30 goals in 51 appearances across two years, helping the Angelenos win the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield double in 2022. That brought the $6 million move to Pachuca, where Arango had a reasonable five goals in 11 matches during his half-season in 2023.

In RSL, Arango becomes a long sought-after missing piece for a club that has been without a true striker since Yura Movsisyan in 2018 (and some would say since Alvaro Saborio, who scored 51 goals in 100 appearances from 2011-2015).

Regardless of the specifics, Salt Lake’s No. 9 hole has seemingly been filled, a natural pairing with the high-priced wing talent of Savarino and Andrés Gómez. Add ageless utility star and team captain Damir Kreilach behind him, and the Colombian striker presents a veritable scoring threat amid a forward-thinking quartet of scorers — and we haven’t even mentioned suddenly streaky goal-man Rubio Rubin.

Oh, and Diego Luna has returned from international duty at the U20 World Cup, where he had two goals and three assists in leading the United States to the quarterfinals. Luna returned to Salt Lake before Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the LA Galaxy in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which he attended, and will be available for selection Saturday against NYC FC.

“I would expect that we’ll get to see more of Diego Luna on the field,” Fall told ESPN 700 radio earlier this week. “He’s a special talent. He’s a really creative player, and continues to find ways to use his creativity to impact games. You saw that at the U20 World Cup, and our hope and expectation is that he’s going to be able to do more and more of that on MLS fields now that he’s back.” 

All of which adds up to RSL owners David Blitzer and Ryan Smith building more into the attack of the club with a -9 goal differential — the lowest GD among the 18 teams currently above the playoff line.