Goalkeeper Shuffle

Earlier this week there were reports that Rapids goalkeeper Adam Beaudry had been offered an opportunity to train with Arsenal later this month.  With Rapids 2 off until May 3rd there wasn't going to be much playing time for him in the near future.  Before everyone gets excited (like one Arsenal blog I saw) this isn't expected to be a precursor to an immediate move, but I'm sure part of the reason the training was offered was for the London-side to get an up close look at him as somebody they will keep an eye on in the near future.

Of course, along with starting for Rapids 2 Beaudry is also Steffen's backup for the first team and if he's in London that leaves us a keeper short.  Colorado solved that today by announcing that Rapids 2 backup Ethan Bandré has been signed to a first-team contract for the 2024 season with team options for 2025 and 2026.   Bandré  has been with Sporting KC 2 the last two years before moving to the Rapids 2 side this past offseason.

The Rapids could have solved their bench shortage with a short-term callup of Bandré for the next couple of weeks while Beaudry is in the UK.  The fact that they decided to go with a full-signing suggests that they expect to need his services beyond the next couple of weeks.  That could be because Beaudry will get more chances to train in Arsenal, chances with the youth national teams that will cause him to miss games, or that they think Steffen will get a shot with the National Team at some point this summer, which will push Beaudry to the starter role and they'll need Bandré as the backup then.

Bandré is expected to be on the bench in Cincinnati this weekend while Beaudry heads over the pond.