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Red Bulls eyeing Atlanta striker Kandji

The New York Red Bulls’ search for a forward has led them to Atlanta, where they have their eye on a forward who just might be able to help the club’s slumping offense.

The Red Bulls are considering acquiring Atlanta Silverbacks striker Macoumba Kandji and Red Bulls head coach Juan Carlos Osorio has traveled to Atlanta to see the striker in person. Atlanta plays Miami FC tonight.

The Red Bulls have been eyeing Kandji for months and placed a discovery claim on Kandji several months ago, sources told SBI on Friday. One source told SBI that the Red Bulls have the first discovery option on Kandji.

So what is standing in the way? The Atlanta Silverbacks have the Senegalese striker under contract and are seeking a transfer fee of approximately $200,000. The Red Bulls have the funds to make such a purchase, but must decide whether he is the striker they want to spend a sizeable allocation on.

Kandji has registered 10 goals and five assists for Atlanta this season, tying him for the USL first-division lead in the goals. Kandji, who turned 23 last Saturday, could be the speedy forward Osorio has been hoping to find to play alongside Juan Pablo Angel. Kandji’s combination of size (6-foot-4) and speed have helped him spearhead an Atlanta attack that leads the USL first division in goals.

The Red Bulls could make a bid for the young striker as early as next week. Tonight’s match should offer a good gauge for Osorio of where Kandji stands as Kandji will very likely be matched up against former Red Bulls defender Eric Brunner, a starting central defender for Miami.

What do you think of this development? Could Kandji be the answer to the Red Bulls goal-scoring woes?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Ives,

    you have any idea if the Red Bulls made the deal to sign Kandji? Could help now even though Magee played well today vs DC

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  2. the vancouver commentators have announced that there is no kandji for the game right now. maybe you guys made the deal after all?

    it would be a ridiculous steal. i begged the coach friday night not get taken advantage like this on this deal, but it seems out of his hands

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  3. I would hope that the deal would not be completed until the end of the playoffs, but i imagine that any team sells anyone if the number is right.

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  4. Is Atlanta actually willing to sell their best player just as teams are coming down the home stretch towards the playoffs?

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  5. a few years from now, when kandji is making that 50 million dollar transfer from liverpool to barcelona, one of you red bull fans can tell everyone of the story of how you guys could have had the new pele for 200k, but found the price outrageous.

    there are reasons why some teams are generally good and others are always struggling and these reasons are generally less complex than you are led to believe. you guys want to be mediocre and obscure in the world’s biggest sports market forever? it’s no skin off my back!

    any of you guys who have thoughts that kandji is just some good USL striker who is too slow or weak or bad to step up to MLS and succeed, you have another thing coming. (in fact, he’s not really even a striker, btw)

    just hope the new york post never finds out about the story as it will definitely make the back page.

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  6. if you can get him for 200k, jump all over it. kandji is singularly the most exciting player in north america right now and would really be marketable in new york. he has physical skills you have not seen before, freaklike pace and control.

    USL is not that far below MLS in level of play and everything kandji does here, he can do for you there. if anything, he can do more as he will have some better players to work with and access to more advanced coaching/training methods. it’s hard to overstate how raw and inexperienced he is as a player. he will only get much better and his next transfer will be in the seven figures, not six.

    i would not dilly dally at 200k. a big french team will eventually figure out what they have available to them and he will be the steal of the century for them as 200k is chump change for a transfer to the big euro sides.

    they buzz is only going to get bigger and the price consequently higher. the silverbacks would be foolish to let him go for 200k and anyone would be foolish to not buy at that price if available.

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  7. Actually, not a bad idea to groom a young player already familiar w/usa and hopefully turf. We then need a dynamic veteran delantero, to rotate in, preferably Colombian of course!…a shame money creates such obsticles for JCO and most of the rest of the league, The Brasilian forward on Miami FC is very good, but had a recent injury. Too bad no one scored to see in person. We probably should send 2 guys down unfortunately for space/ money, to play w/ Brunner, whom is doing great.

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  8. He just has to be an upgrade not an MVP.

    If the FO get him for less than 200k than that shows me they got some skill.

    The playoffs are still plausible, sign him.

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  9. I agree with Joamiq’s assessment.

    I think 200K is way too much though. Maybe we can send Mike Magee there or something.

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  10. I got to see this kid in Atlanta last week.

    I was VERY surprised that a guy with this skill level was still in USL.

    I found him to very reminiscent of Kanu. My friends were trying to relate him to Adebayor, but I still stand by the Kanu comparison. Long, gangly, loooooong stride.

    I can’t tell you how many times he simply touched the ball into space and just ran past defenders.

    I’d watch him again.

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  11. He could be like one of New England’s Gambians. He’s extraordinarily fast and he’s a poacher. I think he’ll have a hard time with the faster MLS defenders, but he definitely has tools to do well.

    In the few times I’ve seen him I didn’t think he was better than Galindo.

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  12. I wouldn’t mind seeing the Red Bulls either loan him for the rest of the season, with an option to buy for 200K, and/or bring the transfer price down; but with a sign on clause.

    He seems worth taking a risk on; but most MLS clubs would balk at 200K for an unproven player. I’m not saying he isn’t worth it; but at 23, he’s more than just a short term acquisition. So cut a deal with Atlanta to make sure they get fairly compensated, if he performs well; but don’t risk the cash surplus on someone who needs to step up a level to MLS.

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  13. I’ve seen him a few times on FSC, and he always stood out. $200k seems a little pricey for a transfer fee for him, but RB/Metro has certainly spent more money on worse prospects. I think his size and speed make him a very good prospect for MLS. I can’t imagine his salary would be too expensive…just the transfer fee

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  14. @thedreamteam: of course rbny will be in the game. Dcu has a much more important match 48 hours later and is pretty banged up right now.

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  15. I think he’s a piece to the puzzle but not a solution. Already Osorio got a new central defender which was very needed. DC on Sunday, will RBNY even be in this game at all?

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  16. I hate to be negative, but I’m thinking this is not the signing that will make us competitive with Houston,

    New England and dare I say DC? We’re still going to suck. Oh yeah and be very very very very very boring.

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  17. so Senegal (where French, not English is spoken) -> Charlotte high school -> Georgia Military College -> Atlanta Silverbacks PDL team -> Atlanta Silverbacks

    now 23 years old

    there’s not many steps in that process that gives MLS much chance to sign a player. Once on the Silverbacks PDL team, they had the inside track to signing him as a pro. Even earlier this year he was quite raw (has the tools but would need some time to find his place in MLS). It’s not like MLS passed over this guy. He just didn’t come through Bradenton or Division 1 soccer. MLS youth development resources (which had been limited to Generation Adidas) are focused on developing USMNT talent.

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  18. I think this guy ended up be a decent MLS striker:

    “On the men’s side of the tournament, USL Hall of Famer Brian McBride will return to action after returning from international play for the senior national team. The former Milwaukee Rampage (1994) star will be guiding a team with seven former PDL players”

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  19. Kandji is more humble than he is good at soccer and that’s saying something. I agree, he has not had the direct track to MLS like most kids. He’s here on asylum status from Africa, and he went to a junior college in GA before the Silverbacks picked him up.

    Silverbacks will be lucky if they can hold onto him for the rest of the season. He’s gone after this one.

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  20. Ives

    Do you have any news on what Osorio thought from the game tonight? I think Kandji would be a good acquistion for Red Bull

    Reply
  21. Our family has loved watching Kandji play in the time he has been with the Silverbacks. He has awesome footwork and my kids study his every move. Not that it matters, but he has always been extremely nice when the kids go down for autographs after the game as well. Good kid, good player. I wish him much success in the MLS!

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  22. I’ve seen Kandji play once in person, while visiting family last year in Georgia, and a couple of times on FSC.

    I came away impressed each time. I can’t guarantee he’ll hack it in MLS but he has plenty of tools. Big, fast, skilled.

    What I don’t think should be done is to dismiss him just because he’s playing in the USL. This is a guy who came over from Africa and went to HS in the Charlotte area and then went to a JuCo in Georgia. He wasn’t really on the traditional MLS trajectory so he ends up in the USL almost by default. That shouldn’t be held against him.

    Secondly, the list of former USL players who have gone on to do well in MLS is pretty lengthy. Brian Ching, Edson Buddle, Kerry Zavagnin, Jimmy Conrad, Craig Waibel, Herculez Gomez, Carlos Llamosa, Clyde Simms plus a boatload of goalkeepers.

    Again, he could be a complete bust in MLS. Plenty of USL players have failed to be as dominant after moving up as they were in the USL. But his chances for success shouldn’t be dismissed just because he’s in the USL.

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  23. Hey Matt, find a hole and bury yourself in it.

    YES YES YES. A 6’4″, fast, 23 year old forward or midfielder would be a key acquisition for the Red Bulls. Kandji has proved that he can score and assist in USL. Obviously MLS is more challenging. He may not make the immediate kind of impact that acquiring a veteran striker would make, but there is no doubt in my mind that he could be an impact player for NY and would be an excellent acquisition.

    Seems to me that Kandji could become another Shalrie Joseph.

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  24. I watched a Silverbacks game on FSC earlier this year and was shocked watching him play. I thought for sure he’d end up in MLS fairly soon. I’d say he’s better than 50% of the reserve strikers in this league and could start for probably 4-6 teams tomorrow.

    He’s a huge improvement over John Wolyniec so why wouldn’t he get a look? The $200k is crazy though.

    And for the record, there’s been a pile of USL strikers who’ve flamed out in MLS. It’s a long list.

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  25. I’d rather take a chance on a young player who’s already producing than a 31 year old who never produced anywhere (Oscar Echeverry).

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  26. i wouldnt be opposed to this. hes leading the usl in goals scored and points. people need to get over foreign love fest. if jco came back with a south american striker of the same skill no one would be complaining but because hes playing in the usl everyone wants him fired.

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  27. I have watched him about 5 times down at the RE/MAX and would love to watch him again tonight if I wasn’t stuck at work. The way he runs reminds me an awful lot of Henry. He keeps his feet very low to the ground and he almost glides along the turf.

    He is a great player with great pace. The defenders get frightened when he is running at them. He is easily the best attacking player I have ever seen in the USL. My only concern is lack of mass. If the MLS defenders are able to shove him and the refs aren’t going to call it then he might have trouble. It normally takes 3 USL defenders to stop him in transition.

    Osario has seen players from all over the world and if he is impressed I think the fans in NYC should be also. He is not going to waste his time on someone that he doesn’t believe can excel in the MLS.

    Red Bulls drop the 200k this week so we can get the RE/MAX completely finished.

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  28. @mpat75

    Galindo is Cuban and he spent a couple of seasons with Seattle. Living in Atlanta, I’ve been able to see Kandji on several occasions. I figured he would be in MLS by next year for sure, but hes talented enough to belong now. He is raw, but I think he can step in and help right away. If RedBull can get him, I wish him the best.

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  29. “Sort of new to following soccer but if a foreign player is in the USL wouldn’t there be a reason why he was there and not in a better league?”

    Should foreign = good? That would be a bad assumption.

    BTW, Kandji went to high school here in the states and played college ball.

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  30. Sounds like a good risk to me too, as a TFC fan. Especially as we dont look like we have anything else going for us. Sigh.

    Gotta get over this whole sorry for ourselves thing here.

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  31. mpatt75,

    Its like anywhere. Players fall through the cracks, Tony Romo wasn’t even drafted. It happens. Sometimes USL can offer better wages than MLS to young players too. This kid may have just gotten a lot better too?

    I can’t pretend I’ve ever heard of him before this post, but he sounds like he is worth the risk to me..(as a Red Bulls fan)

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  32. USL players will fit right into JCO’s 4-5-1

    He has as many goals as Randi Patterson in the USL. We should sign him too..Oh wait

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  33. Sort of new to following soccer but if a foreign player is in the USL wouldn’t there be a reason why he was there and not in a better league?

    I’ll hang up and listen.

    Reply
  34. Kandji has the most MLS potential of any player in USL1. At the beginning of the year he was still rather raw, but with his speed and athleticism I’d figure that he’s still worth using immediately at least as a sub. 200k? I guess but I’d bet 100k will get it done.

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  35. Matt,

    How come you don’t think so? The Red Bulls just need a guy to help Angel put some balls in the net. If DC can find Emilio in the Honduran league and Chivas can find Galindo in the USL, then the Red Bulls can find a valuable striker in the lower divisions too.

    (BTW I’m a DC fan just offering advice)

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  36. Does anyone have an idea about how often succesful USL-1 strikers flop in the MLS?

    I can’t think of too many examples (Alan Gordon?). Instead, people like Ching and Galindo come to mind – highly succesful at both levels.

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  37. Matt, Yes. I’ve seen him play 7 times.

    Gonna see him an 8th tonight. He’s ready. His crossing isn’t the best, but shots, tricks, he’s ready. Speed, he may very well be the fastest human I’ve ever seen in person. I’ve seen Percy Harvin in person. Mac’s faster. I don’t want to leave my Silverbacks, at least not until the end of the season, but it’s the way it goes.

    Reply
  38. i dont think he is a simple solution, but as a sounders fan, i have seen him play before and he is a extremely talented kid and would fit in well in the MLS

    Reply

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