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Greetings to the New Right Back: Cherrion Valerius is a Loon

Despite being connected with attacking midfielders all transfer window, Minnesota’s only deadline day acquisition was at the other end of the pitch. For the second window in a row, the team pursued NAC Breda’s 20-year-old right back Cherrion Valerius, and this time they got it done. Strictly speaking, the deal is a loan through the…
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Rumor Watch: Cătălin Cîrjan

Minnesota United, having missed out on Callum McCowatt, have turned their attention to Cătălin Cîrjan, a 23-year-old midfielder from Dinamo Bucharest per reports from Romania. If you’re short on time — Hi Hank! — here’s the quick and dirty: Cîrjan is a very, very good offensive player and one of the best midfielders in the…
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More Than a Teardrop on the Fire: Ryotaro Ito Would Give Minnesota a Massive Attack

Last summer, one of the players connected to Minnesota at the very end of the transfer window was Billal Brahimi, a Nice player on loan to Belgium’s Sint-Truiden. I was hopeful he’d come to Minnesota mostly because he was the polar opposite of the rest of the team: Lightning fast, even with the ball at…
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No Longer a Prodigy, Can AZ Jackson Be a Firestarter for Minnesota United?

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…
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Rumor Watch: Callum McCowatt

One thing that didn’t change when Adrian Heath departed Minnesota United’s front office was the team’s preference to play transfer dealings very, VERY close to the vest. The team believes – and not without evidence – that publicizing interest in a player can only make the transfer more difficult. The tradeoff is that while they…
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Awaken the Augurs: Ali Al-Hamadi Needs a Change of Scenery

This is the second of four(ish) pieces on players I believe Minnesota United could be targeting following the World Cup. Read the initial bird omens along with me. Before the World Cup kicked off, Khaled El Ahmad told a group of season ticket holders that the team had identified a player they were hoping to bring…
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Awaken the Augurs: Elijah Just Isn’t A One-Man Band

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Right Back at the Right Time: Kyle Duncan is a Loon
I would wager, with just days before the 2026 season opens, few teams in MLS had a bigger glaring need than Minnesota United did at right back. The problem is worse than it might seem at first blush. Yes, there are three recognized right backs on the roster — Jullian Gressel, Bongokuhle Hlongwane, and D.J.…
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The Cavalry Has Arrived: Who Are Dominik Fitz, Nectarios Triantis, and the Rest of the New Loons?

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Rumor Watch: Nectarios Triantis
