Minnesota United’s youth movement continued on Tuesday with the signing of 21-year-old central midfielder Owen Gene, from Amiens SC in the French second division.
Gene is a tall, rangy defensive midfielder, and will occupy a U22 Initiative and international spot on the Loons roster. Despite his youth, he’s already played more than 100 games for the Amiens first team.
Manager Eric Ramsay described him as good defensively, athletic and “clean” on the ball — though perhaps not as a plug-and-play lineup solution.
“I don’t think we’re going to put huge pressure on him to contribute from day one,” Ramsay said. “I don’t think the expectation will be that he’ll come in and completely change the look of the team, but he’s definitely got some raw ingredients and hopefully a pretty high ceiling.”
As with recently signed Hoyeon Jung, the Loons expect Gene to go to an embassy in Canada to get his visa appointment this week, with an outside hope he might be available to play in Minnesota’s final preseason game Saturday.
Gene is the second U22 signing of the offseason, after central defender Nicolás Romero. Along with Sang Bin Jeong, the Loons now have three players in their U22 spots. That’s important to roster compliance, as their transfer fees don’t count against the team’s salary cap, and the players’ salaries hit the cap at a reduced rate.
Unlike with last summer’s signings, Ramsay is hoping to integrate the new players slowly. “I don’t think we’re in any mad rush for contributors,” he said.
Minnesota’s front office isn’t currently expecting other new signings to come in before the beginning of the season, with the possibility open that the team has already made all of its winter signings. The Loons have until April 23 to sign new players, and another window from late July to late August.