Minnesota United announced Thursday that it has signed midfielder Niko Hansen to a two-year contract with a club option for 2023.
The Loons will send $125,000 in general-allocation money — $50,000 in 2021, $75,000 in 2022 — for a midfielder whom coach Adrian Heath in a statement called an "incredibly gifted and athletic" player. Heath also predicted Hansen's versatility will be "huge" during another condensed season schedule that begins April 16 at Seattle.
Hansen, 26, formerly with the Houston Dynamo, adds depth to a team that could lose players for a time during the Tokyo Summer Olympics and the European championships. He can play on the wing and elsewhere.
Heath said he consulted with Loons players Ethan Finlay and Wil Trapp, both of whom played with Hansen in Columbus. Heath also said he has admired Hansen since he played at the University of New Mexico, before Columbus selected him ninth in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.
"He knows the league, he knows the opponents," Heath said. "His pace is a game-changer."
Aiming for Tokyo
Loons midfielder Hassani Dotson started and played 82 minutes in the U.S. U-23 national team's 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on Thursday to open Olympic qualifying-tournament play in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Dotson provided the dirty work that created teammate Jesus Ferreira's 35th-minute goal that stood up as the game-winner. U.S. captain Jackson Yueill, a Bloomington native, started in the midfield with Dotson.
