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Red Bulls acquire Sene from Revs

SaerSene (ISIPhotos.com)

The New York Red Bulls had a quiet summer transfer window on the international market, but did make a potentially major move on Tuesday that could help boost the team’s inconsistent attack.

The Red Bulls acquired French forward Saer Sene from the New England Revolution on Tuesday, in exchange for forward Andre Akpan and an undisclosed amount of allocation money. The Red Bulls also secured an international roster spot for the remainder of 2014 in the deal.

“Saer, who can play wide or up front, will add a different dimension and another option to our attack,” said Red Bulls Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh. “We’re excited to bring him aboard and at the same time, we wish Andre all the best with his new club.”

Sene spent three seasons with the Revs, scoring 17 goals during that span, but fell out of favor in New England, managing just 40 minutes played in the Revs’ past 15 matches. Major injuries hampered his time in New England, with a broken leg and dislocated ankle suffered late in the 2013 season affecting him into the 2014 season.

The Red Bulls will be hoping Sene can flash some of the quality he showed back in 2012, when he registered 11 goals and three assists for New England.

Akpan is a journeyman forward with local ties to New England, having starred for Harvard before turning pro. Akpan managed just 16 minutes played this season for the Red Bulls.

What do you think of the deal? See Sene making an impact with the Red Bulls? Still holding out hope the Red Bulls will sign a Designated Player?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It seems like a fairly even trade, depending on the amount of allocation cash involved. Akpan is not really an MLS caliber player and the fact that NE is talking about starting him is sad for them. Sene is certainly a more useful attacking piece, when healthy. But NY has much bigger problems in defense than in attack. And if that allocation money somehow nets NE Jones, it’s going to be pretty frustrating from my perspective as a Red Bull fan, as I think Jones would be just perfect for NY.

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  2. Seriously, why not f-cking ronaldinho or jones. People were talking to me garbage about ronaldinho to red bull but they get another foward.
    I thought your team needed a center defender and maybe (a new coach) 🙂
    If red bull would have gotten ronaldinho, they would have won MLS cup or gone to MLS cup with super coach petke.
    If I was red bull front office, I would get ronaldinho but tell him and his brother, ” you’re in ronaldinho, but you gotta show us commitment And heart,by getting on a small to medium diet and our fitness staff will get you back to a new level. We give you what you want but you gotta get in shape and act like the real ronaldinho.”
    What’s so hard about that?
    Why not even jones as well?
    If petke doesn’t get to MLS cup, it will be sad for red bull fans, Henry, Cahill and petke should be out the door.
    Red bull need a shake up, with nycfc coming they will be chivas USA 2.0 but slightly a little better.
    If I was garber, I would be thinking twice about red bull in MLS. Red bull ownership is so strange with the power and money they have.

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  3. I think that this is a great pick up! I could be wrong but this guy was once considered a great signing. He scores at a clip of a goal every four games. That’s better than 25% of all games played (including numerous 2nd half substitutions at the end of games) and that number could be significantly higher had it not been for Major Injuries from 2013 and lingering issues into 2014.

    Is he damaged goods? If not, NYRB will make out like bandits when he hits his stride again. I expect him to compete for a spot on the wing or to offer flexibility with playing Henry (back up starter on plastic pitches/attacking mid w/ 6’3″ Sene playing target to partner BWP)

    I hope that RBNY will switch to a 4-3-1-2

    ——- SENÉ — PHILLIPS —-

    ———— HENRY. ————

    CAHILL — DAX Mc — LLOYD

    ———- Back Four ————

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    • I like the formation but, alas, I don’t think our manager is inclined to play anything other than a flat 4-4-2. Is he capable of any other??? He trots out the same scheme again again.

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  4. what the revs are doing is a mystery, apparently. sene, although apparently injury prone, is one of the more talented non-DP players in the league (he was on the 2nd team at Bayern, apparently, b4 joining the revs). akpan might be underrated and all, apparently, but he isn’t going to set the league alight. here’s hoping these are just some cap moves, apparently, to land Jermaine Jones or someone of similar ilk.

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  5. Even if we needed another attacker, which I don’t think is a high priority, Sene isn’t the answer. Been pretty disappointed in ownership’s willingness to spend. They’ve had an open DP spot for a year and a half.

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    • It’s hard to tell to what extent Roxburgh’s hands are tied by the mother ship in Austria, but in general I agree. On the other hand, isn’t this roster already much better than the team’s record shows? Is it time to ask questions about Petke? He’s a great motivator and competitor, and he bleeds Metro/RBNY colors, but with his lineups, tactics, and substitutions, does he always, as the saying goes, put the team in the best position to succeed? I’m not suggesting a particular answer to the question, but a below-.500 record forces us to raise it, I think.

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      • Everyone has their opinions on talent levels. I say no, NY is right where they should be…weaker in many positions. MLS is tough.

      • Overall, I don’t think the team is that talented because the defense is so poor. Roy Miller is probably their best defender at this point, given that Olave has slipped this season. Bringing in complete stiffs like Eckersley, Armando and Convey this offseason can’t be blamed on Petke.

        I’m not saying Mike is perfect. I think the attack can be predictable at times and he can be a little slow to change things up when needed but overall I think he’s doing well. I blame the front office (whether it’s Roxburgh or Austria) for the problems with this team for the most part.

  6. when is New England gonna drop big money for a player worthy? Heck. Drop 10 million a year for Ibrahimovic. He’s out of contract next year or even Fernando Torres.

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    • Lets see, Zlatan has played in:

      – Malmo (hometown in Sweden)
      – Amsterdam
      – Torino
      – Milan (twice)
      – Barcelona
      – Paris

      and now you say he wants to go to Boston? No offense, but its not going to be Boston, Kansas City, Chicago, Denver, Columbus, et al.

      IF, and that is the largest if I can muster, Zlatan decides to pursue an MLS career, it will be in Los Angeles or New York City. That’s it. Foreign players grow up knowing about those towns as world media meccas, not Boston… sorry.

      Zlatan is bigger than Boston. Deal with it.

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  7. forward? really? that’s our biggest need? that’s why we’ll never win MLS Cup. Ugh. And to think i passed this horror show on to my kids. I should have known better….

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