Real Salt Lake boss Pablo Mastroeni admits teenage forward Zavier Gozo harbours "big dreams" of playing in Europe, but they do not want to lose him midway through their MLS campaign.

Real Salt Lake sit fourth in the Western Conference ahead of Saturday's Rocky Mountain Cup showdown with the Colorado Rapids.

Mastroeni's team have 22 points on the board after 12 matches, having eased to a 3-0 win over the Houston Dynamo in midweek.

Gozo continued his breakout campaign by scoring twice in that match, and he has been strongly linked with a mid-season move to Europe.

But Mastroeni says that if the forward is to leave, any transfer would have to work for the club as well as the player. 

"Obviously, we've talked about it internally, and we don't want to lose Gozo in the middle of our season," the RSL coach told KSL Sports. 

"There are still conversations happening, and my conversations with Gozo have been the same as with every player – wherever you want to go in the future, the only road to get there is through here, through now, there's no other way.

"The most important thing is staying focused and staying present, but all the while, there are these big dreams he has lined up ahead."

A mid-season exit for Gozo would draw parallels to the situation they endured in 2024, when star winger Andres Gomez completed a $11m move to Rennes during the MLS campaign.

Reflecting on that transfer, Mastroeni said: "At the end of the day, the Gomez situation didn't sit well; it didn't end up being good for the guys or for the club. 

"So for the guys in the front office, there's a plan in place, they're in contact with Gozo and his representatives and will find the best outcome for him, while ensuring we don't shoot ourselves in the foot by losing him too early.

"There's a lot of variables that go into that, like what the transfer looks like if it does go through, but to be clear – Gozo could be a star here at Real Salt Lake for many years if he wants to be."

The Colorado Rapids are five places and six points behind RSL, having won 1-0 at Minnesota United on Wednesday, earning their fifth victory of the campaign but their first since April 12.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Real Salt Lake – Zavier Gozo

With his brace against Houston, Gozo – at the age of 19 years and 52 days – became the youngest player in Real Salt Lake history to score multiple goals in an MLS game. 

Gozo has now scored nine regular-season goals, surpassing Luis Gil (eight) for the most by a teenager in club history.

Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro

Navarro's winner on Wednesday was his eighth goal of the season, more than twice as many as any other Rapids player this year. 

Only Junior Agogo (13 in 2000) had more goal contributions in his first 13 appearances of a season for the Rapids than Navarro's 12 this campaign (eight goals, four assists).

MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE

Since the beginning of 2014, Real Salt Lake have won 21 of their 33 regular-season meetings (D4 L8) against Colorado Rapids. That is the most league wins by any MLS team against another in that time.

Real Salt Lake have also won eight of their last nine home matches (L1), dating back to the end of last season, including back-to-back shutout wins in their last two. 

RSL have not posted three straight shutout wins at home in regular-season play since June and July 2019.

And given Colorado's victory at Minnesota earlier this week was only their third in their last 22 away matches dating back to last April, RSL are clear favourites. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Real Salt Lake – 57.1%

Colorado Rapids – 22%

Draw – 20.9%