The Colorado Rapids wrapped a chaotic and expensive transfer window with the signing of 17-year-old Akol Akon from Sydney FC in Australia. Akon will join the Rapids on a future contract starting in July 2027.
Colorado spent big on three attack-minded wingers — , and Ibrahim Sadiq ($1.1M) — while also shipping forward Rafael Navarro to St. Louis City for an MLS record $12M.
Colorado currently sits in seventh place in the Western Conference with 36 points. The top nine teams make the playoff field, with seeds 8 and 9 in each conference playing a single-elimination match to decide the final spot.
Rapids president Padraig Smith told The Post he was very, very, very pleased with how the transfer window ended.
“We set out with lofty ambitions,” Smith said. “We would need to be bold in this window, and do things that were uncomfortable, but would put us in a position to improve the team and challenge to win titles.”
The reported $10 million transfer fee for Whittaker is a club record.
Whittaker has already played 216 minutes for the Rapids since joining the club. He scored twice in a 3-3 draw against Seattle in the club’s last match. It was his first two goals with the team, and with his price tag, he is expected to be a club-altering signing.
“His credentials speak for themselves,” Smith said. “His production at the championship level is truly outstanding. He’s eager. We’ve been lacking a goal threat, both in scoring and in opening pathways for others. Bringing in a genuine goal threat on (the wing) was really important for us. He’s got a fantastic left foot thatap going to allow him to come inside and have the play open up for him.”
While Whittaker was the big-name signing, Sadiq has the club very excited to see him in Colorado. Sadiq has had visa troubles that have kept him away from the team longer than Abu Farkhi and Whittaker, despite being signed around the same time. He was the last signing before the window closed. Akon was signed later and will join the club in 2027.
“Sadiq is such an explosive, quick player who’s going to bring a lot of verticality,” Smith said. “Again, with a very good goal-scoring record. Both wingers (Whittaker and Sadiq) are very comfortable finishing, very comfortable in those kinds of positions.”
Akon is the final transfer of the window, and he will follow a similar path as former Rapids player Lucas Herrington, finishing with Sydney FC in Australia for a year before joining the Rapids. He has potential similar to Herrington, one of the youngest players ever to appear in a World Cup. The Rapids sold Herrington to Premier League’s Hull City for a record transfer fee of $17M, with the Rapids maintaining a percentage of Herrington’s future sell-on rights.
“Akol is a young player with a lot of potential,” Rapids coach Matt Wells said. “We are already a very young group, so this is another addition of a young player with all of his best years ahead of him. Once he is within our environment, we will be able to develop him in line with our adventurous style of play.”
The Rapids had an extremely busy window, defined by two club-altering departures: Herrington and Navarro, both going for a combined $30 million plus add-ons. Colorado brought in Maziz, Abu Farkhi, Whittaker, Akon and Sadiq. Dante Sealy, Alexis Manyoma, Connor Ronan and Ian Murphy also departed the club.
The Navarro deal, especially, was difficult news for Rapids fans to come to terms with. Navarro had been a staple in the Rapids starting eleven since he joined in 2023. He became a fan favorite, scoring 42 goals in 114 appearances.
“It was really difficult, to be honest,” Smith said. “There were a lot of sleepless nights over this. Itap been clear over the last few windows. He’s talked about leaving. There’s been offers from Mexico and Brazil, and we’d been able to bat them all away. Ultimately, there was a big issue around the contract negotiation. As his contract started to run down, we needed to secure his future. Once it became clear that that wasn’t happening, you have to be determined in what you do.”
Despite the loss of two key players, Smith is confident the Rapids came out the other side a better team. “Ultimately we knew what we needed to do this window, and that was to be bold, to revamp the attack, and make us better,” he said. “We’re thrilled with how the window ended for us.”
