Minnesota United called on three midfielders to fill in as defenders during Wednesday’s match against D.C. United.
It ended in catastrophe.
D.C. striker Christian Benteke assisted and scored on two goals in the final minutes to snag a 3-2 comeback win and sink the Loons into a nine-game winless rut. Both goals came on set pieces — one corner and one free kick — a glaring defensive weakness for the Loons.
Carlos Harvey, who has been starting at center back instead of his regular off-the-bench midfield role in the last few games, was amid the fallout midweek at Allianz Field.
“I think Carlos would be the first to tell you there on that second (goal), he (is) sort of mistiming his movement back into the game, and that’s ultimately cost us,” Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay said. “Of course, we’re looking to continually improve in that sense and really push the players to develop. It’s certainly not for lack of work or attention, but we need to hold the players to high standards. We really need to push them, because ultimately it’s costing us at the moment, and it’s a part of the game that, of course, you can’t ignore.”
Part of the improvement Ramsay was alluding to is adding new players in the summer transfer window, which opened Thursday.
A calvary is believed to be on its way.
One back-line addition is incoming. Jefferson Diaz, a 23-year-old Colombian center back, and the Loons have agreed to contract terms, a source confirmed to the Pioneer Press on Thursday. The 6-foot-1 defender is joining MNUFC on a reported $700,000 transfer fee, but that number has not been verified.
How soon MNUFC and Diaz can finalize the agreement and how quickly he can arrive in Minnesota and play for the Loons is unclear. The club will likely have Diaz remain in his native country to obtain his work visa before traveling to the U.S. That might take weeks.
Another defender addition is described as “to be determined.” Matus Kmet, a 24-year-old Slovakian right back, is a Loons target, a source confirmed. But other clubs reportedly are in the market for Kmet as well.
The Loons are looking for a starting right back during this window, and if it doesn’t work out with Kmet, the expectation is MNUFC will quickly switch to another target. That’s what the club did earlier this week when its attempt to sign Panamanian center back Edguardo Farina didn’t get done and they turned to Diaz.
MNUFC also continues to progress in a contract with 24-year-old Ghanaian/Italian striker Kelvin Yeboah. If that deal gets finalized, he too would likely remain in Italy to receive his work visa before traveling to Minnesota.
Samuel Shashoua, a 25-year-old English attacker, is now eligible to play for the first time against San Jose on Saturday. His signing was made official in June.
Summer transfer window remains open through August 14.
Running on empty
Loons left wing back Joseph Rosales exited the 1-1 draw with Houston on Saturday due to a combination of fatigue and muscle cramping. He then came off the bench against D.C.
That exhaustion was emblematic.
“Joe has fallen victim over the course of the last six weeks,” Ramsay said. “He is a very explosive player and a player that relies on energy and changes of pace and ability to play at a certain intensity. I think over the course of him clocking up far more minutes than we would have liked, his form has suffered.”
Rosales isn’t the only player to go down amid a larger or unexpected workloads.
Midfielder Wil Trapp played 1,561 of a possible 1,620 minutes across 18 of 19 games this season, missing only one game for the birth of his child on June 15. He felt his hamstring tug in a training session the week of the Portland game and was scratched from the lineup in warmups to play the Timbers on June 29. He has been out weeks.
Right back D.J. Taylor was not supposed to play on June 1, but a toe injury to Caden Clark forced Taylor back into the starting XI that day against Kansas City. He pulled his hamstring, subbed out and was visibly frustrated in the locker room postgame. He missed two games, played in the next four and then aggravated the same injury. He is now out one month.
Resolution for Puerto Rico players
Loons defender Zarek Valentin turned to the Pioneer Press in June to shed light on how he and teammates on the Puerto Rican national team were getting paid $75 per match. That news created a stir on the island territory and might have affected change.
Valentin followed up this week to say the non-unionized players and the Puerto Rico federation have come to an agreement to pay players more money. He declined to say how much of a raise they are in line to receive.
“It’s important that the federation is showing them value,” Valentin said. “As much as some of these guys have a lot of (appearances) and are doing it for the love (of the game and Puerto Rico), I think it’s good that we can come to this resolution.”
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