Wednesday’s three-team deal that saw Carolina trade away forward Jamil Walker and receive forward Hamed Diallo from Rochester is one Chris Economides said all parties will be happy with.

“A good trade is something that helps all teams involved,” the RailHawks president and general manager said. “This may be the case.”

The full trade had Walker going to Rochester for Diallo. Walker was packaged with Rhinos goalkeeper Chase Harrison and sent to Portland in exchange for midfielder Andrew Gregor.

In Diallo, the RailHawks are getting a proven goal scorer who is hoping a change in scenery will help him rediscover his goal scoring touch.

“He has an element I think we’ve lacked, which is speed up top,” Economides said. “We’re excited about the possibility with him and [Dan] Antoniuk up there. Jamil had some speed, but it’s not in the category that Hamed has.

“When you look at what [Diallo’s] done, he’s a proven commodity. He has something to prove. ... When you look at those factors, he’s going to want to show he belongs. I’m really excited about some of the possibilities.”

Last season in Rochester, his first in USL-1, Diallo scored nine goals and had two assists in 18 games, and he was named Rochester’s team MVP. In a five-match span last July, he exploded for seven goals.Two of those goals came in a 2-1 Rhinos win over Carolina.

Before coming to the U.S., Diallo also played in France, Qatar, Sweden, Italy and Belgium. In 1999, he scored 20 goals for Stade Laval to lead the French Ligue 2. He lead the league in scoring again in 2002, when he tallied 18 goals for Amiens SC. Diallo was also a part of the Ivory Coast national team in the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

After last season’s five-match scoring spree, Diallo went scoreless over the season’s final seven games, plus two playoff games. He scored seven goals in Rochester’s seven preseason matches this season, but that didn’t carry over to the regular season. He appeared in eight matches for the Rhinos but didn’t score a goal or register an assist.

Diallo arrived in the Triangle on Wednesday evening, had a physical on Thursday and will accompany the team on its trip to Minnesota and Vancouver for this weekend’s games.

Diallo, a native of Ivory Coast, said through an interpreter on Thursday that he is happy to join Carolina and that he is looking forward to getting on the field and scoring goals again.

He also said he welcomes the challenge of trying to break through the logjam Carolina has at forward. Antoniuk is the only one to start all 14 games this season, while Jacob Coggins, Connally Edozien and Walker all vied for minutes as the second striker.

The inconsistent minutes led to discontent for Walker.

“Being in and out of the lineup and finding the right rotation has been difficult,” he said Wednesday evening. “I was looking to get more of a chance.”

Walker appeared in 13 games for the RailHawks. He started twice in USL-1 play and logged a total of 334 minutes. He joined the squad late in training camp this spring. After a strong outing against Virginia and then scoring a goal against Minnesota, he signed with the team.

“The beginning of the season, I knew I would have to work my way in and come off the bench and do what I’ve been doing most of my career,” Walker said. “I thought I was doing a good job. I got a few starts. From then, there was different things.”

Walker scored his lone goal as a substitute against Atlanta on May 10, a match that ended a 2-2 tie. He was in the starting lineup for the next two games, logging 83 minutes against Minnesota on May 18 and 61 minutes against Rochester on May 24. The next match, he entered as a sub in the 73rd minute. The next match, he didn’t play at all.

Walker was particularly frustrated during the RailHawks 0-4-1 road trip last month, in which they were shut out four times and he played about 20 minutes per game.

“I was really frustrating because we were losing games,” he said. “I felt like I came to help the team win and I felt I could do that. I never got a run of games to do what I can do.”

Despite a number of offseason acquisitions meant to bolster the RailHawks' offense, which was second worst in USL-1 in 2007, Carolina’s attack has shown only marginal improvement.

The RailHawks have scored 14 goals through their first 14 games and been shut out five times. After starting the season 3-0-4 with a goal differential of plus-3, they are since 1-4-2 with a goal differential of minus-8. Through 14 games last season, the RailHawks had an identical record (4-4-6), scored 10 goals and were shut out seven times.

The trade transpired quickly, Economides said. After not playing against Seattle on July 3, Walker approached Carolina coach Scott Schweitzer and Economides about his displeasure with his playing time. Economides knew Diallo was on the trading block, and he knew that Rochester and Portland had reached a stalemate in their work toward a trade. When the RailHawks dangled Walker, it all came together.