The New England Revolution broke their weeks-long silence concerning a long-awaited transfer, as the club officially announced the signing of Ivory Coast midfielder Xavier Kouassi as a designated player.
Kouassi, who currently captains Swiss-side FC Sion, will join the Revolution at the start of the summer transfer window, on June 30, as his contract expires.
“As captain and leader of his current Club we feel we’ve acquired a player in Xavier who is in the prime of his career,” said Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps in a statement. “We look forward to his arrival.”
The only issue with this transfer is that the player’s arrival will be delayed; assuming Kouassi arrives from Europe injury free, he’ll be missing at least the Revs’ first 16 games.
That said, the 26-year-old midfielder does appear to still be in peak form, as Heaps suggests.
While Kouassi’s résumé includes playing the Europa League, saying he currently plays for the Ivory Coast—as the Revolution suggest in their press release—is a bit misleading, as he’s only garnered one cap for his country (in 2011).
The 5’8” midfielder will likely be a box-to-box type, similar to Jermaine Jones, who has yet to find a new club since his contract with the Revolution expired at the start of the year.
So for now, the Revolution’s depth in central midfield extends to Daigo Kobayashi, Scott Caldwell, and Steve Neumann.
A big question for this transfer is how Jones will be affected. The 34-year-old U.S. national team midfielder seems to be out of touch with reality in terms of signing with a new team: he wants similar money to the million dollar-plus deal that saw him sign with the Revolution, though he’s avoiding his injury history and a one-year suspension.
And by signing Kouassi, the Revolution seem to have officially stepped away from Jones.
The Revolution have now signed three players this off-season, each of which has served a real need. Kouassi bolsters the midfield and adds a veteran presence, Sambinha strengthens back line depth, and Jordan McCrary provides a speedy option down both flanks.
It’s curious how little the Revs have gone after MLS players, or American players in general.
