TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Minnesota United FC kept the attacking reinforcements coming Thursday, announcing the signing of veteran MLS winger Ismael Tajouri-Shradi.
The 29-year-old Libyan international, who last played for Cypriot first-division club AC Omonia, joins through 2023 with club options for 2024-25. The Loons are his fourth team in the league, following previous stints with New York City FC, the New England Revolution and LAFC. Tajouri-Shradi will not occupy an international roster slot.
Tajouri-Shradi's arrival comes a week after Minnesota acquired Designated Player Teemu Pukki, Finland's all-time leading scorer who spent the past five years at Norwich City.
"First and foremost, we know what we are getting, he knows the league, he knows the teams and he has proven himself capable of scoring goals," Minnesota head coach Adrian Heath said in a release. "He’s shown that he can score for different clubs in MLS, around one goal every three games for a wide player is very much the standard."
A proven MLS commodity with 28 goals and nine assists in 90 regular-season games (49 starts), Tajouri-Shradi adds wing depth alongside the likes of Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Franco Fragapane and Sang Bin Jeong. The club's also weathered a long-term knee injury to ever-versatile midfielder Robin Lod.
It's another attack-minded move for a Minnesota side that's scored just 21 goals this year (seventh-lowest in the league) as they also fully reintegrate playmaker Emanuel Reynoso following an early-season suspension. Judging by their most recent performance – a 4-1 blowout of the Portland Timbers – things appear to finally be clicking for the Loons.
Adding a player like Tajouri-Shradi, an MLS Cup champion in 2021 with NYCFC who also won the 2022-23 Cypriot Cup, offers MNUFC yet another valuable offensive weapon.
"He wants to be here in Minnesota and this was a golden opportunity for him and for us to lift off the success he had in this league previously," Heath said. "He wants to get back to his high level of play and we spoke to his former clubs and they spoke glowingly about him as a player and a person and that’s always a big part of the types of players we look to bring here to Minnesota. He’s ticked all the boxes in all the right areas and it’s a big opportunity for all of us."
Minnesota's latest signing comes with the MLS Secondary Transfer Window in full swing and running through Aug. 2, allowing clubs to bolster their rosters for the second half of 2023.
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