A transformational summer for the Colorado Rapids crescendoed in the final days of the MLS transfer window.Weeks after the Rapids transferred center back Lucas Herrington to Hull City for a club-record fee of up to $23 million, another departure was imminent: leading scorer Rafael Navarro.Around 24 hours after The Athletic first reported the shock deal to send the Brazilian to St. Louis City for a record intra-league deal of $12 million plus add-ons was close, Navarro was named to the starting XI for the team’s match against rival Real Salt Lake. It quickly became apparent it would be Navarro’s last appearance for the club.With that deal advancing, the Rapids began executing offers on several additions that would come down to deadline day a few days later.A whirlwind of deals saw Navarro and Dante Sealy (CF Montréal) depart after Herrington. At the same time, incoming attackers Morgan Whittaker (club-record fee of $10.7 million), Sayed Abu Farkhi ($6 million) and Ibrahim Sadiq followed Youssef Maziz in reshaping the attack.“It was a high-pressure window, but that’s what you want,” club president Pádraig Smith told The Athletic. “The pressure was coming from the fact that we knew we were a good team but wanted to become genuine contenders. … We feel like we’re a better team coming out of the window than we were going into the window. That’s always the goal.”That night against RSL, where Navarro helped lead the team to a 1-0 win and then shared an emotional goodbye with the fans, Abu Farkhi was in the building. He flew in before his deal was formalized and announced.Around 90 minutes before the match, Smith was pitchside, continuing to work on additions. He received formal confirmation that an offer had been accepted on one of the club’s targets.Four days remained in the window. The work was far from over.Rafa Navarro scored 10 goals in 22 MLS games this season for Colorado. (Matt Krohn / Imagn Images)Colorado had long braced for Navarro’s departure, rejecting offers from Brazilian clubs each of the last few transfer windows that didn’t meet the club’s valuation. That didn’t make it any easier.The Rapids entered contract talks with the popular forward, including an offer to make him the highest-paid player in club history, said league sources who were not authorized to speak publicly about the talks. However, the gap in financial expectations between the two sides was too large to be covered.Whether it was this summer or the winter, an exit appeared inevitable if the Rapids wanted to maximize value for a player who has scored 37 goals in the last two-and-a-half seasons before his contract began to wind down.“We had a lot of sleepless nights over the Rafa decision; he’s a great guy and a top player,” Smith said. “But we knew we needed to revamp the attack … and given the fact we hadn’t been able to secure him to a new contract, it felt like there was an inevitability (of a departure).“We felt now was the right time to make the move, be bold and accumulate a record level of funds.”St. Louis approached Colorado for Navarro, identifying him as a perfect fit in the club’s search for a big-money attacking addition. Colorado began talks by saying if the club were to sanction an exit within the league, there would be a premium on the fee.Eventually, the clubs agreed, and after weeks of back-and-forth, St. Louis reached a new contract with Navarro, making a deal imminent just ahead of last weekend.Navarro, 26, made 114 appearances for Colorado, the last of which came last weekend while wearing the captain’s armband and hugging supporters on his way off the field.Meanwhile, Colorado advanced the Abu Farkhi deal forward while saving the designated player spot (and funds for a club-record fee) for a winger.In head coach Matt Wells’ system, wingers make the difference. The team was getting results with five wins in its last six matches but scored just six goals in that time — five from set pieces. The Rapids struggled to turn ball dominance into match dominance.“Having difference-makers in those positions is of the utmost importance,” Smith said. “We were getting by, but a lot of that was coming with incredible defensive performances. You don’t want to leave it to chance when we’re as dominant as we are in possession.”Morgan Whittaker will be counted on to be a leader for the Rapids in their new-look attack. (George Wood / Getty Images)The Rapids identified several top targets and negotiated deals, ultimately advancing on Whittaker, the Middlesbrough winger.He checked all of their boxes: a wide player who could score and create, who’s in his prime and proven in a high-level league.The 25-year-old delivered 14 goals and seven assists in the Championship last season, the second time in three years he had more than 20 goal contributions in England’s second division.“We talked to a number of players, but when you get the opportunity to bring in a player like Morgan who has a track record like he does in the Championship, it becomes a no-brainer,” Smith said.A club-record deal was struck by Tuesday, with a medical quickly scheduled in London. With the details ironed out and documents signed, Whittaker traveled to America on Wednesday.“It was challenging, to be perfectly honest,” Smith admitted about the DP search. “You’re looking at players who have options to go to different clubs — Morgan turned down a Premier League offer at the beginning of the window.“It means you have to convince them, you have to sell them on the project and they have to sell you that they are the right person to come in and take this responsibility.”In conversations between Whittaker and Wells, it was clear he wanted that responsibility. He will be the main man in the attack, which should help previous club-record signing player, Paxten Aaronson, to find his best form, as well as Georgi Minoungou.Maziz, who joined this summer, has given Wells a different creative profile in the attack and has taken to the league well in his early days.At center forward, between Abu Farkhi and Darren Yapi, the club is confident it has enough goals and quality to fit the game model.Abu Farkhi, 20, already made his senior debut for Israel and scored 24 first-team goals, most coming at Maccabi Tel Aviv. He had five goals in 401 minutes across all competitions at the beginning of this season before moving to Colorado.Beyond the goals, Abu Farkhi’s physical data shows a player who works hard for the team, as Navarro did.“Abu Farkhi is someone we have a lot of excitement and belief in,” Smith said.Meanwhile, Yapi has 15 goals and 128 appearances at 21. He played on the wing a bit to earn more minutes, but he is a center forward and is looking forward to more games at his preferred position.“We know Darren is ready; he’s already proven he can score goals,” Smith said. “We know he’s going to go out there and try to prove he’s the center forward for the team going forward. We told Darren we were going to bring someone in, but there’s been a pep in his step to prove he belongs. It’s great competition.”Darren Yapi should shift into his more accustomed central forward role after a series of club moves. (Ron Chenoy / Imagn Images)Colorado is a team remade. Defense is set, with the under-the-radar addition of Loic Williams to partner with Rob Holding before Herrington departed. The big question is whether the moves will translate into better attacking play and more goals.Over the last 13 months, the Rapids have recorded their three largest sales (Herrington, Navarro, Djordje Mihailovic) and their three most opulent arrivals (Whittaker, Aaronson, Abu Farkhi).“We knew we needed to revamp the attack … and with incredible support of ownership, we were in the position to reinvest those funds,” Smith said.The Rapids, who enter the weekend seventh in the Western Conference, will look to keep climbing the standings and have a big game on the horizon: a U.S. Open Cup semifinal — against St. Louis City.Navarro is ineligible to feature for St. Louis in that competition, having already appeared for Colorado. Still, it certainly adds another storyline and serves as a stark reminder of the club’s whirlwind midseason makeover.