Houston Dynamo sign Ezequiel Ponce in club-record transfer
(image via Houston Dynamo FC)
The Houston Dynamo have completed the transfer of Argentine striker Ezequiel Ponce from AEK Athens. Ponce will be eligible to play when the MLS transfer window opens on July 18.
The 27-year-old striker joins the Dynamo on what has been reported as a club record fee. Our sources have indicated the transfer is around $8 million. Ponce fills a huge need at the striker position for a Houston side that has struggled to score goals consistently.
"First, we want to thank Ted for providing us with the support to continue pushing this club forward. He remains deeply committed to building a sustainable winner in the city of Houston, and our mission is to turn his vision into a reality,” General Manager Pat Onstad said. “We performed an exhaustive, world-wide search for a new starting striker, and Ezequiel was our number one target. He has experience scoring in the top competitions in the world, he is a great fit for our game model, and his character and professionalism are exemplary.”
“Most importantly, Ezequiel and his family were very motivated to come to Houston and be a big part of our project,” Onstad continued. “He impressed us at every step of our evaluation process. We are thrilled to have Ezequiel, Martina and their young family join us in Houston, and we hope to achieve great things together.”
Ponce began his career at Newell’s Old Boy in his native Argentina before moving overseas for what became a tour of Europe. He signed with Italian club Roma and then was loaned out to Granada in Spain, Lille in France, and AEK Athens in Greece. In 2019 he signed with Russian club Spartak Moscow. In 2022, Ponce went on loan back to Spain, this time with Elche. The move became permanent in the summer of 2022. Last summer, Ponce rejoined AEK Athens, signing a four-year deal with the Greek club.
The Argentine striker is coming off one of his best seasons in his career, scoring 16 goals for AEK Athens across all competitions. He put up an astonishing 0.92 goals per 90 minutes this season. His fbref statistical profile from this season’s Europa League compares him most with strikers such as Romelu Lukaku, Danny Welbeck, Olivier Giroud, and Danny Ings. His Football Manager profile has him most comparable to Adam Buksa, who previously played for the New England Revolution and scored 16 goals for Antalyaspor in Turkey this season.
