New York City FC continued to mold its roster for the upcoming season on Monday, signing one player to a new contract and sending another out on loan.

NYCFC announced on Monday that midfielder Gedion Zelalem has come to terms on a new deal after originally having his contract declined at the end of the 2020 campaign. The team also announced that midfielder Juan Pablo Torres has been sent on loan to USL Championship side Austin Bold FC.

The 24-year-old Zelalem’s contract is for the 2021 season but NYCFC has multiple options to extend it. The former U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team player appeared in just one match as a substitute last campaign for New York City FC. Torres, 21, featured twice, with both cameos coming off the bench.

CF MONTREAL HIRES NEW COACH

It has only been a little less than two weeks, but CF Montreal has found its new head coach. Right in the current technical staff, too.

CF Montreal announced on Monday that Wilfried Nancy has been named the team’s new manager. A long-time assistant coach of Montreal’s first team, Nancy takes over the organization’s head coach position after Thierry Henry stepped down from the post late last month due to personal reasons.

“We are very happy to announce Wilfried as our head coach today,” said CF Montreal sporting director Olivier Renard in a prepared statement. “After Thierry left, we decided to trust him and give him the opportunity to continue the work we started last season, with the same vision. It is also part of the club’s philosophy to consider and promote our own.”

Nancy, 43, has been an assistant with Montreal since January 2016. The Frenchman was part of the coaching staffs that helped the team win the 2019 Canadian Championship and reach the playoffs in 2016 and 2020. He is the eighth different head coach the franchise has had since entering MLS in 2012.

MORGAN INKS NEW TAM CONTRACT WITH INTER MIAMI

Inter Miami has signed Lewis Morgan to a new contract that makes the winger a Targeted Allocation Money player, the team announced on Monday. Morgan came to terms on the deal after being named the team MVP for the 2020 expansion season.

The 24-year-old Scotsman started and played in every of the Herons’ 24 matches last year, including their one playoff game. He ended the campaign with five goals and eight assists.

D.C. UNITED lands hines-ike, SIGNS smith

D.C. United has landed centerback Brenden Hines-Ike on a season-long loan from Belgian side KV Kortrijk and signed first-round draft pick Kimarni Smith, the team announced on Monday.

Smith has signed a one-year deal that includes team options through 2024. Hines-Ike joins after spending the past two campaigns in Belgium’s top tier with Kortrijk while Smith arrives after being taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2021 MLS Draft in January.

Hines-Ike, 26, had started in each of the eight games he had appeared in for Kortrijk this season. The 22-year-old Smith, meanwhile, recorded eight goals and three assists in 10 starts and 11 appearances in his final campaign with Clemson University in 2020. In total, Smith scored 26 times while dishing out 11 assists during his four collegiate seasons.

CF MONTREAL TO BEGIN 2021 season in south florida

There will be not one but two MLS teams training and playing in South Florida at the start of this season.

CF Montreal announced on Monday afternoon that it would start the 2021 campaign practicing and playing home games at Inter Miami CF Facility and Stadium, respectively. The decision comes as a result of the Canada-United States border still being closed as a part of COVID-19 restrictions.

Last season, CF Montreal spent a portion of the year calling Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey, the team’s home venue.