Rodolfo Pizarro and Inter Miami are the new MLS attack

It used to be that almost every MLS side seemed to have an Argentine number 10 pulling the strings in the attacking half, and players like Federico Higuain and Diego Valeri found they could keep doing it well into their 30s. But Inter Miami have taken a different tack with Rodolfo Pizarro, the 25-year-old Mexican international who starred for Monterrey, Chivas, and Pachuca, three of the best teams in Liga MX. With a $12m pricetag, it's certainly a statement of intent.

The Tampico-born CAM has never played in Europe, and we have to wonder if Inter Miami see him as the anchor of their attack for years to come or potentially a profitable investment. We're guessing it's the former, since head coach Diego Alonso had Pizarro at Pachuca and bought him at Monterrey, too. But Pizarro isn't a typical CAM for MLS, in that he's more of dribbler who likes to take the ball forward from the edge of the final third, especially on the left. He'll make short passes from inside the box on either side of the penalty spot, shooting only from central positions:

Argentine fans in Miami – and there are a lot of them – might have been disappointed not to see a compatriot as their new club's "enganche", but Inter Miami won't lack Argentine talent in attack. They paid $9m to Estudiantes for Matias Pellegrini in July and then loaned him back to the club. They did the same with Julian Carranza, bought for $6m from Banfield, but he picked up a foot injury during the subsequent loan. Pellegrini can play anywhere in the attacking half but never really settled into a single position at Estudiantes. He's a fine dribbler at an MLS standard and a very good finisher. Carranza has had excellent numbers for his age at CF, where he plays as a fairly mobile target man who likes to receive the ball on the ground. He's already well above average in attacking output for MLS, though he looks mediocre in duels.

So here's a quick snapshot of Inter Miami's $27m worth of Latin American attacking talent:

Joining them will be a mix of MLS veterans like Lee Nguyen and Juan Agudelo, plus a few lottery tickets from the USL including Jerome Kiesewetter from El Paso (via Fortuna Dusseldorf) and George Acosta from Austin. Of particular interest is David Norman, a 20-year-old smarterscout young prospect at CM who had strong attacking output – and room for improvement in several other areas – for Vancouver Whitecaps II last season. Yet perhaps the most intriguing signing for Inter Miami was that of Lewis Morgan, the Scottish forward who found himself on the fringes of Celtic's squad for the past couple of seasons after coming up with St Mirren. Morgan is an exceptional dribbler at an MLS standard who can play on either side, but his most successful run of games probably came at RW for Sunderland in League One last season. We keep data on the Scottish Premiership and League One for private clients, and here are Morgan's stats at RW across all leagues using an MLS standard:

Given the lack of investment in true CMs, it seems pretty clear that Alonso will play a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with a double pivot. We may see Pellegrini lining up on the left, Pizarro in the middle, Morgan on the right, and Carranza up front – if all of them are healthy – with Wil Trapp and Victor Ulloa behind. They'll have to create some fireworks to keep the pressure off Inter Miami's slightly less-than-fearsome back line. But given the young talent the club have put in place, we're expecting excitement for a few years to come.