New York City FC are continuing to build their squad ahead of their entry to Major League Soccer in March 2015.
With four players already signed by director of football Claudio Reyna and head coach Jason Kreis so far, they now have a fifth player after acquiring FC Dallas midfielder Andrew Jacobson. The 28-year-old Californian joins Frank Lampard as New York’s second midfielder in club history.
[RELATED: Lampard signs for NYCFC]
Jacobson arrives in the Big Apple in exchange for NYCFC’s highest pick in the third round of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. The versatile American has previously played for Philadelphia Union, D.C. United and FC Dallas in MLS and he will immediately go on loan to Bob Bradley’s Stabaek in the Norwegian Tippeligaen to prepare for his new time with NYCFC.
New York now have Designated Players Lampard and David Villa on board, while goalkeeper Josh Saunders and defender Jeb Brovsky have also joined the new expansion franchise. Jacobson will add depth across midfield and is a player who has vast knowledge of the league after playing in the North American top flight for six seasons after a brief spell with French side Lorient.
So, Jacobson is definitely joining NYCFC. What about Italian international Alberto Aquilani?
Reports from Italian outlet Sportsmediaset reported over the weekend that Aquilani could be heading to New York City FC as his contract with Serie A side Fiorentina runs out in June 2015. That would slot in quite well with New York’s inaugural MLS season and the creative midfielder would be a real coup for Kreis’ side. Over the last two campaigns he has regained the form he’s shown in patches for Italy as the Roman has scored 14 goals in 71 games.
Aquilani, 30, has played for Roma, Juventus, AC Milan and Fiorentina in Italy, while also playing for Liverpool in an unsuccessful spell back in 2009. His quality is undoubted and if NYCFC were in for him, he would likely arrive in a DP slot which would mean in Villa, Lampard and Aquilani they’d have three star players from three of the biggest soccer nations in Europe.
Right now the Aquilani talk is pure speculation but it will be interesting to see where Kreis and co. use their third and final DP slot between now and next May. At the moment they only have five players, but NYCFC could put out a pretty decent five-a-side team. It’s a start.
