How the Seattle Sounders can adjust after losing Obafemi Martins

Now what?

That's the question Seattle Sounders fans are asking themselves now that the team's best-performing striker, Obafemi Martins, has departed for Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua. It's a fair question, too, since Martins and Clint Dempsey formed perhaps the most efficient one-two combo in Major League Soccer.

For head coach Sigi Schmid, the answer to that question might just make or break Seattle's 2016 campaign. General manager Garth Lagerway has already entertained the possibility of signing another Designated Player, saying the club has "contingency plans" in place.

But apart from bringing in a new name, can the Sounders survive without Martins? Let's take a look at some of the club's options:

Sign a new Designated Player

Martins' departure doesn't just leave a hole in the Seattle lineup: It also opens up a Designated Player spot for the Sounders. Since Seattle is a big MLS market that can attract top talent, netting a third DP isn't impossible for the club.

It's way too early to speculate who that third player could be, but there are a few forwards who might be tempted; the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Fernando Torres, and Miroslav Klose have all been linked with moves to MLS as they near the age of retirement.

Use what you've got: Nelson Valdez

Seattle may not even need a second DP striker since it already has one. Paraguayan striker Nelson Valdez joined the Sounders late in 2015 and made seven appearances, scoring one goal.

While the Sounders might be tempted themselves to simply replace Martins with another star striker, the presence of Valdez means they might be better off reinforcing other key positions on the field.

Place trust in rookie Jordan Morris

Compounding Seattle's abundance of star quality up top is Stanford University standout Jordan Morris, who signed with the club during the 2016 offseason after being courted by German outfit Werder Bremen.

The young United States international is a highly-touted prospect, and could be a key figure for the Sounders in the 2016 season. He wouldn't be the first MLS rookie to find his scoring feet, either, after Cyle Larin dominated in 2015 to the tune of 17 goals for Orlando City.

Give Dempsey a solitary role

Should Schmid want to make sweeping changes to the way Seattle plays its soccer, now would be the time to do it. A five-man midfield is more up-to-date with the current tactical shift in football; while Seattle doesn't have all the right pieces to make it work at the moment, Schmid could get creative and possibly use Valdez and Andreas Ivanschitz out wide with Dempsey either up top, or as a No. 10.

Whichever way Schmid configures this potential lineup, the core anchors in Seattle's midfield remain the same: Ozzy Alonso and Erik Friberg put in the defensive work, and the rest of the team takes care of the scoring.

Fight back! Sign Wu Lei

All this talk of Chinese Super League money has the football world's collective heads spinning, but let's not forget which league was first to the table when it came to spending exorbitant amounts of cash on overvalued talent.

That's right: MLS started this trend, and if America's league wants to stake its claim on the want-nots of world football, then the Sounders ought to make a statement and sign Shanghai SIPG striker Wu Lei, the top domestic scorer in the Chinese Super League.

The very future of the former-star-nearing-retirement market may be hanging in the balance.