By MATT STYPULKOSKI
New York City FC’s backline is about to receive some much-needed reinforcements.
The expansion club announced the addition of two fullbacks on Tuesday – Manchester City wunderkind Jose Angel Tasende and Athletic Bilbao veteran Andoni Iraola.
Iraola, who turns 33 next week, has spent his entire senior-team career with Athletic Bilbao. Over the course of 12 seasons, the right back made 510 appearances and scored 38 goals for the Spanish club.
In addition, Iraola was capped seven times by the Spanish national team, where he crossed paths with NYCFC striker David Villa. He will join the club on a free transfer.
“We look forward to having Andoni at the club,” NYCFC Sporting Director Claudio Reyna said in a statement. “His level of professionalism and humility is exactly what we want to have at New York City FC. His experience playing at the highest level will be a great influence to the younger members of the squad.
“He’s not going to wear the captain’s armband, but essentially we’re adding another captain to the team.”
Tasende, who goes by the nickname Angelino, is an 18-year-old left back. He will join the club on a season-long loan from Manchester City after spending the season playing for the English club’s Elite Development Squad, which is a U-21 team.
“Angelino is a talented young player that I became very familiar with when I spent my five months over in Manchester,” NYCFC head coach Jason Kreis said in a statement. “Immediately, he was somebody that I liked. I was impressed with his character, the way he trained and the effort he gave to the team on the pitch. I couldn’t be more pleased that we’ve been able to bring him into this squad.”
Both Angelino and Iraola will join NYCFC when the MLS secondary transfer window opens on July 8, pending physicals and the necessary visas.
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What do you make of NYCFC’s additions? How will Angelino and Iraola fit into the squad? See NYCFC making any more moves this summer?
Share your thoughts below.
NYC,Seattle,galaxy and LA2, Will take mls to the next level.
Hopefully Miami,Orlando,Minnesota will do it to.
Love these moves, and I’m excited to see a player like Angelino playing in MLS. He is a quality young fullback, and I hope that more clubs sent their young players on loan here.
People will make the typical “farm club” jokes, but that just comes off as jealousy to me. Having one of the top teams in Europe with one of the highest payrolls send you top prospects on loan is a big advantage for NYCFC. It also allows MLS the chance to see players that it typically wouldn’t.
Not mentioned in this post, but does anyone know how Onyewu’s trial for NYFC went?
Put on hiatus because he suffered an injury.
Iraola is a half decent signing, but LOL at the farm team bringing in yet another development player from the parent club. How can they, with a straight face, claim to be anything other than Man City;s plaything?
Even if they are Man City’s plaything is that bad? I’m excited to see an elite young talent like Angelino in MLS, even if just for half a season. I hope Man City loans out more young talent to NYCFC.
It would not bother me one bit for EPL clubs to loan top young talent to MLS clubs.
Put me in the camp that sees it as a good thing…
So you could either watch RJ Allen, who they signed off the street, or a highly-rated academy product from one of the top clubs in the world?
I would think that EPL clubs loaning young talent to MLS clubs as a good thing. Improves the overall quality of the league, hope that more clubs take on loans of young players, especially high quality academies like City’s.
South and Central American clubs have been loaning talent to MLS for a while without people crowing “farm team”.
Difference is MLS has always had a policy if they took on a loan it had to include option to buy. They didn’t want to be a farm league, they used it as a method to trial a player before buying.
NYCFC/Man City situation is completely different. It’s nice to see some top talent play in the league, but a constantly rotating cast of young talent would make them very much a farm team.
Constantly rotating cast of young talent happens all over the world. would make them very much a farm team.Chelsea and Vitesse have the same relationship, is Vitesse a farm team?lol
umm…yes…of course they are.
He’s just making believe Cosmos are a “big” club while secretly he’s jealous they aren’t getting loanees from huge clubs.
Are either of these players going to be NYCFC’s 3rd DP?