Rumor: Joao Plata target for Liga MX side Monarcas Morelia

DISCLAIMER: This is unconfirmed, and the information is only coming from a single journalist on Twitter. It’s still catching on, so we’re reporting on that.

Is Joao Plata a target for Liga MX club Monarcas Morelia? That’s what a report from Mexican TV reporter Paco Arredondo would have us believe.

It’s hard to say if this rumor was generated from word of Plata’s troubles with RSL coach Mike Petke, but that would certainly appear to be one explanation. Petke addressed that in his press conference after RSL’s win over New York City FC.

It’s an interesting situation. We’re at a very good point with Joao. I am, personally. The first week or two it was a little rocky with him and I. He had some issues with being on-time and certain things. We sat him down a week-and-a-half ago and pled our case to him, and said, “You’re a special player. You could be one of the biggest players for us.” But I don’t think Joao’s at close to where he could be. He’s really embraced that. He’s had a phenomenal attitude the last week-and-a-half. I thought he was great tonight, personally. I thought he was very dynamic down the left side. I thought he put the work in, and I thought he created a lot.

We reached out to RSL Communications for comment, but the team rarely comments on unsubstantiated rumors.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this one, but a player like Plata makes for pretty compelling rumors — after all, he’s young, has scored quite a few goals in a growing league, and he’s established himself enough to land near the top end of RSL’s roster.