When Minnesota sold Aziel (AZ) Jackson in the winter of 2022, fans were disappointed. 

When Minnesota reacquired Aziel (AZ) Jackson in the summer of 2026, fans were disappointed.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. 

I’m not going to relitigate the decision to sell Jackson in the first place, Jon Marthaller told the story superbly and everyone should be reading his stuff. Both the decision to unload Jackson to St. Louis and the decision to bring him back from Poland were probably justifiable; the former didn’t work out, the jury isn’t so much still out on the latter as “has not yet been impaneled.”

The one thing I’ll add to Jon’s account is this: When the decision gets made to move on from a young, high-ceiling player, it’s virtually impossible to separate the decision from the return. In Jackson’s case, Minnesota would have been better off negotiating for some BBQ and a shot at the Pointersaurus rather than turning the GAM they actually got into Cameron Dunbar. 

Had Dunbar become a decent regular, I suspect there wouldn’t be nearly the strong feelings about Jackson we saw when he left and are seeing now.

Since leaving Minnesota, Jackson has been caught in a loop: Wow a new team in patches, never quite secure a starting job, develop a reputation as a malcontent, and move on.

Interestingly, that cycle shows up pretty clearly in his stats. Here’s his most recent loan to Vancouver, where he played 575 minutes across 14 games:

You can see why teams are interested in bringing him in: above average dribbler, can hit passes that open up defenses, gets into the box well, really good defensive work-rate, it’s all stuff that fans love to see. 

But over time the other parts of his game become more apparent: Willing shooter but not an effective one, isn’t hitting the pass before the pass OR the assisting pass, tries to take on too many defenders and gets dispossessed.

He’s impressive when his game works, but from a coach’s viewpoint, he’s not reliable enough to start and that’s clearly what he wants. 

When Jackson left Minnesota the first time, he played through the middle, which made me think he would be able to spell Joaquin Pereyra. In fact, since he has moved to the left wing, it will be Tomás Chancalay that gets to rest. Here’s Chancalay’s profile so far this season:

They’re very, very different players, which brings me to what I like about this deal, even if Jackson isn’t the type of signing that sells jerseys.

He Changes the Point of Attack

Too often this season, Minnesota has gotten into a grove around the 20 minute mark of the first half and by the 60th minute they’re holding on for dear life. Opponents figure out how to shut down what has been working and there is no Plan B. 

Jackson give Cam Knowles a way to shuffle the deck. He’ll be more likely than Chancalay to cut into the box and look for an underlapping run – something Owen Gene has looked good doing – and against a tired backline, his speed might turn into a penalty. 

The trade-off is that he isn’t quite as good a shooter as Chancalay, though it’s closer than I would have guessed, and he isn’t as good a crosser. But neither Pereyra nor Kyle Duncan makes a lot of back-post runs and neither Kelvin Yeboah nor Momo Dieng is the kind of bulky forward that can just stand in the box and win headers, so that’s a trade-off well worth making. Jackson’s incisive runs will be helpful especially as Minnesota has struggled with breaking down low blocks. 

He’s Ready to Go

I noted in this piece on summer signings that time is running short for new players to make an impact this season, which means that there is value in bringing in a player who knows the league and is game-fit already. Jackson started and got 53 minutes against San Diego on May 23. 

He hasn’t played since then, which isn’t ideal, but I’d be shocked if he can’t give Minnesota 25 minutes against RSL tonight, against whom he has already played and scored this season. 

He’s Got Room and Reason to Grow

It’s unlikely Minnesota is paying much, if anything, to Jagiellonia Białystok for Jackson’s loan; it’s equally unlikely that the permanent transfer option is a pricey one. Being cheap isn’t inherently valuable: If Jackson doesn’t produce and the Loons don’t spend the savings on a starting-caliber option, then we’re back to wishing for a Pointersaurus.

But there’s reason to believe we can save the 20 lbs pizza for another time. Jackson is just 24. He has now gone abroad and run into the same issues that have plagued his career, and for the first time, he is coming back to a place and a coach that he’s familiar with. I have no doubt there’s still part of him that will want to show out and earn a starting place, but if anyone can get him to see what his situation is and what he needs to do to improve on that, it’s Knowles. 

Jackson has some maturing to do, no doubt, but that’s not the biggest condemnation of a 24-year-old. The chip on his shoulder he plays with is a huge part of what made him successful in his late teens and early 20s, but now he needs to find a more complete game and rely on his teammates more. My hope is that being back with people he knows and trusts will help make that happen for him. 

Maybe this all flames out again. Even if it does, it was a roll of the dice worth taking in a season on the brink, and I’ll take my Pointersaurus with pepperoni and bacon.