NEW YORK – Real Salt Lake acquired 22-year-old former Everton reserve forward Cody Arnoux in a weighted player lottery held on Friday afternoon.
There were six MLS teams that opted to participate in the Arnoux lottery and RSL (5.4 percent) had the fourth-best chance to secure Arnoux's services. The Houston Dynamo (48.9 percent), Seattle Sounders (24.2 percent) and Columbus Crew (19.4 percent) had better odds to claim the player.
The percentage chances are calculated by taking into account a team’s record over its last 30 regular-season games. The Portland Timbers (1.6 percent) and Vancouver Whitecaps (0.5 percent) had the lowest-percentage chance.
In Arnoux, Real Salt Lake will acquire a player who made enough of an impression to stick with the reserve side of Everton FC in the EPL. It was his 17 goals in 24 matches for Wake Forest in his 2008 junior year that opened the door for the Everton tryout.
“Cody’s a unique forward, a dynamic forward” his former college coach, Jay Vidovich, told MLSsoccer.com. “He has tremendous work rate, he finds himself in dangerous spots and he’s a good goal-scorer.”
[inline_node:328564]
Arnoux, who is an Italian and American citizen, attempted to stay in the UK following the expiration of his one-year deal with Everton. However, after trials with Plymouth Argyle and Motherwell in Scotland did not result in a contract, he returned to North America.
He signed on with the Vancouver Whitecaps in the USSF D-2 in August of last year with an eye toward playing in MLS during the club’s 2011 expansion season. What he lacked in game fitness while with Vancouver, he made up in hustle and work rate.
However, because Arnoux was offered an MLS contract prior to moving to England, he could not make the jump to MLS without being placed in a weighted lottery and made available to all MLS teams.
Arnoux has most recently been recovering from a knee injury picked up in November while training with the Whitecaps Residency squad in November.
The Wilmington, N.C., native has a reputation of being a good teammate in the locker. He is called a “beach guy” by his college coach, who likes surfing, hunting and the outdoors. The 2005 North Carolina Player of the Year not only stayed in North Carolina for college but he also played for the PDL’s Carolina Dynamo from 2007 to 2009.
Real Salt Lake will now be precluded from participating in future lotteries during the 2011 season along with the San Jose Earthquakes, who landed goalkeeper David Bingham in the first lottery held earlier this year.
