Univision Deportes reported today that Sporting KC has had representatives in Las Palmas as many as three times this season to scout Dani Castellano. The 28 year old Spaniard has been having a breakout year in La Liga as UD Las Palmas is playing in the first division for the first season in over a decade. Castellano has made 24 appearances at left-back this season for The Yellows, who are a surprise middle-of-the-table team in 12th place currently.

It was rumored back in December that Sporting KC sent a scout there in December whose task was to assess their youth squad (and probably try to find some players for the Swope Park Rangers), and then SKC "asked about the situation" of Castellano.

The Google translation of this new Univision story can be difficult to read at times, but it appears they are saying Sporting then sent a scout in February for the Rayo Vallecano-Las Palmas match, and again in March when Real Madrid visited the Gran Canaria Stadium.

This does not feel like a Peter Vermes kind of move. If the article is to be believed, Castellano is having a big year and getting attention from other teams in Spain. I cannot image Sporting KC getting into a bidding war against La Liga sides. Moreover, he has been playing left-back all season. Vermes is Amadou Dia's biggest fan! He is very high on his current left-back's future, who has been having a good season himself.

However if you were to google Dani Castellano, Wikipedia will tell you that he is a midfielder. That makes this situation a bit more interesting.

Basically the logic I'm using here is simply that you can probably never have too many midfielders. Feilhaber, Espinoza, and Mustivar is a fantastic MLS midfield. One of the best trios in the league. But as we are discovering this season, there is quite a drop off when they are missing from the lineup. (He hasn't shown it so far, but Quintilla is a star and will have a strong season as well) I know another defensive-minded midfielder to fill in for Espinoza or Mustivar would make me feel much better.

But again the problem with this is that he probably wouldn't be cheap. He is under contract until 2017. They started looking at him when he was in the 2nd division and perhaps it would have made sense for him as depth in the midfield then. Now it appears he has been playing too well and is possibly too expensive.

It would surprise me very much to see them spend La Liga money on either a left-back or midfield depth.

Sporting KC is very good about always keeping options open. They've got countless players and teams they communicate with and constantly try to make moves. Maybe these more recent trips were about keeping open a dialogue with Las Palmas. Not a bad idea to have friends in La Liga, am I right? Or maybe they've since found a different player they are interested in. There are countless explanations and it is impossible to tell how serious, if at all, Sporting KC is about signing this player.

So what do you think? Is he too expesive? Is he a good fit for SKC?