TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Report

Danilo Silva brought a veteran presence to LAFC's backline after arriving in the summer, and after his purchase option from Brazilian club Internacional was not picked up, will he be returning to the Black & Gold after all?

That's the report from The Athletic's Paul Tenorio, who tweeted on Wednesday that LAFC are in the process of bringing back Silva on a "long-term" deal.

LAFC is finalizing a long-term deal to re-sign defender Danilo Silva, per a league source. Danilo was on loan from Internacional in Brazil through the end of the year. Was a TAM player before, expect acquisition costs to keep him on TAM level going forward. — Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) January 2, 2019

Silva, 32, joined LAFC in the summer transfer window, on loan from Internacional. After Laurent Ciman's transfer to Ligue 1 outfit Dijon in August, Silva slid in alongside Walker Zimmerman at center back for the expansion club, leading them to an MLS Cup Playoff berth in their debut season.

The Brazilian, who also kicked off his career with a brief stint at MetroStars when Bob Bradley coached there in 2005, made 11 appearances for LAFC in 2018, between the regular season and playoffs, scoring one goal. Prior to his MLS return, Silva was best known for a long stint at Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv, winning two league titles and two domestic cups, among other honors, between 2010-17.

LAFC have signed one center back this offseason, Eddie Segura, but with Zimmerman currently out of contract the Angeleno side will have work to do to either bring back Silva and Zimmerman or bring in new reinforcements.