VANCOUVER — The goal-starved Vancouver Whitecaps have once again dipped into the Latin American soccer talent pool, this time for a 22-year-old Uruguayan striker with a knack for the net.

Multiple media reports say Octavio Rivero is about to sign with the Caps, and the club did little Monday to dispute that assessment.

The 6-2 Rivero has scored 10 goals in 16 games this season for O'Higgins in Chile's top-flight Primera Division after bagging 10 goals in 17 games for Uruguayan side Rentistas.

Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi wouldn't comment on Rivero but stressed the club doesn't want any single player coming to Vancouver with unrealistic expectations placed on him.

"Whoever we get will be part of the solution, but we don't want everybody to assume he's going to come here and score a bag full of goals," he said in an interview. "One guy is not the answer, whoever we sign … We were definitely lacking up front (last season) and that's what we're trying to address."

The Caps were 14th of 19 Major League Soccer clubs in scoring last year, scoring just 42 times in 34 games — 11 fewer goals than the 2013 season that was bolstered by the play of now-departed Brazilian forward Camilo Sanvezzo, who led MLS with 22 goals in the 2013 season.

Rivero — nicknamed "El Cabeza" (Spanish for "The Head") — can finish effectively with his head, right foot and left foot.

A YouTube highlight package of Rivero goals shows a spectacular bending strike made from the top of the box that's very similar to the sensational goal scored by former Caps striker Eric Hassli against Seattle in 2011.

He will likely be signed as a young designated player in MLS, meaning just $200,000 of his salary will count against the 2015 league salary cap, which has to be determined under a new collective bargaining agreement next season.

The Caps already have a young designated player in Argentine defensive midfielder Matias Laba and a regular designated player in playmaking midfielder Pedro Morales, who makes $1.4 million a season, but just $387,500 counts against the salary cap.

(Laba's status as a young DP is still unclear for next season because he turns 24 in December and current league rules call for players to become regular designated players in the year they turn 24.)

One report said Rivero's Chilean club demanded a transfer fee of $800,000 US but other teams were interested in the rising young star and it's likely the fee was substantially higher than that.

If Rivero indeed signs with the Whitecaps, he'll join a core group of Latin American players that head coach Carl Robinson has welcomed to the club in the past year — including Kendall Waston (Costa Rica), Nicolas Mezquida (Uruguay), Laba (Argentina), Mauro Rosales (Argentina) and Pedro Morales (Chile). Robinson, as an assistant coach, was also key in landing Honduran centre back Johnny Leveron in 2013.

The Whitecaps haven't had the greatest success in signing designated players who can score effectively in MLS. Eric Hassli started well but then faded, Mustapha Jarju was a bust and Kenny Miller played decently but ultimately wasn't deemed to be worth his near $1-million annual salary.

"Our coaching staff have obviously demonstrated they have a good eye for talent," Lenarduzzi said. "It really comes down to the research you do — what kind of player he is and what kind of character he has. Ultimately you make a decision and time will tell."

Robinson and assistant coach Martyn Pert have scouted extensively in South America and Robinson is currently in the U.K. and expects to continue his off-season scouting activities in Europe.

SIDE KICKS: USL Pro team Charleston Battery has signed a one-year affiliation deal with MLS side Houston Dynamo for the 2015 season. Charleston was affiliated with the Whitecaps this year but the Caps will field their own team in USL Pro next year.

bconstantineau@vancouversun.com

Twitter.com/bconstantineau