About one month has passed since the LA Galaxy selected ex-Red Bulls star Juan Pablo Ángel in December's MLS Re-Entry Draft, and though the two sides have yet reached a contract, that could soon change.

“We’re moving forward with our discussions,” Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said in a conference call. “We’re hopeful we can reach a conclusion over the next week and have him in for preseason.”

Angel and the Galaxy could soon join together and begin the work of trying to land the club their first MLS Cup title since 2005. Ángel, 35, spent the previous five seasons in New York and amassed 58 regular-season goals over that span while helping the club reach MLS Cup ’08.

Ángel and Arena first teamed up in New York when Arena was in charge of the Red Bulls. The ex-Red Bulls manager said his familiarity with Ángel was beneficial in bringing the star striker to Los Angeles.

However, when Arena nabbed Ángel in the Re-Entry Draft, the Galaxy were in a different position. The club’s minor dilemma was playing Angel together with Edson Buddle. The two players have similar styles and perhaps a clash of styles would have made for a rough transition.

Buddle, though, left the Galaxy and joined FC Ingolstadt of the German second division last week.

Signing Ángel thus seems like high priority for the Galaxy, who picked up forwards Adam Cristman and Chad Barrett in separate trades leading up to the SuperDraft to add to existing Galaxy strikers Mike Magee and Jovan Kirovski.

Related