When he was on the pitch, Yaya Sithole had exactly two types of games for South Africa during the World Cup run:
- He was one of Bafana Bafana’s best defenders, a crunching tackler, and a metronomic passer out of the back.
- He clips a runner through on goal and gets a red card
On the back of a draw with Czechia – the game Sithole missed – and a shock win over South Korea, South Africa made the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time ever. They acquitted themselves well against Canada, falling only to a stoppage-time banger from Stephen Estaquio, and Sithole was a major contributor in every game where he stayed on the field.
Unlike most of his South African teammates, the 27-year-old Sithole plays outside the country for Tondela, which was relegated out of the Portuguese top division last season, so he has some experience in a tougher league than South Africa’s Premiership, which would help him get up to speed more quickly if he moved to MLS.
But while he played in a league just outside Europe’s big five, he did not play well there.
A defensive midfielder on a bad team is going to look particularly bad because they’re facing too many attackers to defend effectively and usually lack good passing options to release the attackers even when they do. So, while this radar is unappealing, it probably also sells Sithole short. He looked entirely capable of keeping up with attackers in the World Cup, and his passing didn’t look nearly this inept.
Even allowing for that, however, this is not the type of scouting report Loons fans should want to see. Usually when we talk about players needing to contribute on both sides of the ball, we mean that attackers need to track back. In this case, Sithole can defend reasonably well, but he’s not adding anything to the attack, and the Loons can’t afford another passenger.
If nothing else, Sithole isn’t going to solve any issue Minnesota currently has. After so many years of fans begging for a true defensive midfielder following the departure of Ozzie Alonso, the Loons have two: Owen Gene and Nectarios Triantis. They’re both better than Sithole on both ends of the pitch and both of whom are notably younger.
So should the Loons sign him?
While I’m sure he’d sell a bunch of jerseys on the strength of his last name alone, he’s not a good fit, doesn’t solve a need, and would take up an international slot.
Hard pass.
After digging deep on Minnesota United’s scoring issues in this piece, I’m revisiting my conclusion on Elijah Just as a potential target for the Loons.
So should the Loons sign Just?
On one hand, obviously yes. He’s a fairly inexpensive player, adds depth to the attack that Minnesota badly needs, and contributes in multiple ways depending on what the team needs. There’s almost no way the deal handcuffs Minnesota even if it goes very badly and it seems unlikely that it will go very badly.
On the other, I have concerns. Not with Just per se, I’m confident he can be a valuable player, but with how he might fit with the team. He’s a strong facilitator — his key passes are elite irrespective of comparison group — and his 14 goal contributions last season would put him on par with Joaquin Pereyra, but he isn’t a singular solution to Minnesota’s inconsistent attack and I worry that he’ll be brought in with that mantle on his shoulders
Coming into that piece, I believed Minnesota’s scoring issues came down to an inability to connect the final pieces in the attack: less a lack of good passing into the box and more a lack of lethal finishing. If that’s the case, then my conclusion holds: Just doesn’t solve the problem on his own and would need to be paired with a starting-caliber striker.
But understanding better now that Minnesota’s issues breaking down opponents are more likely being caused by a lack of movement to open up a low defensive block than a lack of finishing, Just is absolutely the type of player that Minnesota can and should bring in even if they don’t bring in another attacker.
He’s still not a great crosser of the ball, which I think Minnesota needs, but that can be addressed elsewhere in the lineup. If Just is available and the World Cup hasn’t inflated his value like a parade balloon, Minnesota should be first in line for his services.
Ed. note: Just was sold last month to Swansea for ~ $7 million. RIP to that dream.