FC Cincinnati made headlines this week when it introduced its remaining signing of the season, ahead Kevin Kelsy, who’s becoming a member of the crew on mortgage from Ukrainian champion Shakhtar Donetsk.
A 19-year-old Venezuelan youth prospect, Kelsy arrives in Cincinnati with the expectation that he’ll fill the massive footwear of U. S. Males’s Nationwide Workforce ahead Brandon Vazquez. Over the winter, he left Cincinnati for Liga MX’s Monterrey.
Vazquez contributed eight objectives and 4 assists final season for Cincinnati, which earned the Supporters’ Defend for one of the best MLS regular-season file.
Vasquez is quick, bodily and uncompromising, and Cincinnati has struggled to duplicate its sturdy 2023 kind with out him. A like-for-like Vazquez substitute, Kelsy might be anticipated to alter that narrative.
“We’re thrilled to have Kevin [Kelsy] be part of the group,” Cincinnati normal supervisor Chris Albright mentioned, per MLS.com. “He is a bodily gifted ahead with a robust mentality.”
Kelsy continues to be a teen, however he has constructed an enviable profession spanning three continents in his quick time as an expert. He started his journey with Venezuelan membership Mineros de Guayana earlier than transferring to Ukraine with FC Shakhtar Donetsk in 2023.
Because the distinguished soccer crew in Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas area, Shakhtar confronted unimaginable challenges throughout Kelsy’s time with the membership. It misplaced a number of gamers because of the battle, through army drafts and voluntary departures, and performed all its residence video games in impartial territory.
Extremely, Shakhtar responded to these challenges by profitable the Ukrainian league in 2023. It additionally certified for the 2023-24 Champions League and considerably outperformed its expectations there.
Kelsy scored in Shakhtar’s opening loss to FC Porto. From there, the crew bounced again and beat Antwerp and Barcelona to assert third within the group.
With Champions League expertise underneath his belt, Kelsy ought to convey physicality and on-the-ball expertise to Cincinnati.
“I am unable to wait to fulfill the followers,” Kelsy mentioned.
FC Cincinnati is second within the Jap Convention, three factors behind chief Inter Miami. Kelsy’s arrival — and his future partnership with Cincinnati’s inventive ahead Lucho Acosta — might push Cincinnati to equal or higher Miami’s Lionel Messi-powered offense.
Cincinnati returns to MLS motion Saturday at Orlando Metropolis.
