Five times in the last seven years, Sporting Kansas City coach and sporting director Peter Vermes presented a center forward to his ownership group as the club’s top target. Five times, the signing fell apart.



“Whether at the end it was with the player or with the club, we couldn’t get to an agreement and they backed out,” Vermes said, “or we backed out because we just weren’t willing to make that investment.”



The end result was different the sixth time around. Mexican star striker Alan Pulido became the most expensive transfer in the history of Sporting Kansas City this January. It was a deal made necessary by what Vermes called “the accelerated growth of the league.”



Expansion has added more MLS clubs into the marketplace. League rule changes, including the introduction of targeted allocation money, has opened up more of the international market. The standard of the league has necessitated a more...