Minnesota United signed forward Fanendo Adi on Friday, looking to bolster its offense with a veteran who has 54 goals over five MLS seasons.
Minnesota United signs veteran Fanendo Adi, hoping he rediscovers his scoring touch
Adi was a 6-4 goal-scoring force for the Portland Timbers from 2015-2017 but has scored only four MLS goals since then.
August 28, 2021 at 5:54AM
Adi, 30, hails from Nigeria and stands 6-4. The Loons signed him to a one-year contract with a one-year option.
"He's a very impressive size," United coach Adrian Heath said in the news release. "You look at him, he's a huge man, but he's in really good condition. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at his age. He's 30, so there's plenty more years in him."
Adi posted back-to-back 16-goal seasons for Portland in 2015 and 2016 and added 10 goals for the Timbers the following year. But he has scored just four MLS goals since, including a scoreless 11-game stint with Columbus in 2020.
"Fanendo has been in training with us for a few days and we've liked what we've seen," Heath said in the same statement. "... Two of my staff members here — Sean McCauley and Cameron Knowles — have worked with Adi for years and know everything there is to know about him.
"We've had this position open and we think he's a little bit different than everybody else that we've got."
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
