Minnesota United is closing in on some help in the final hours of the transfer window

With less than two days to go before the MLS summer transfer window closes on Thursday, and the Loons still in the running for three trophies, it’s not just the Minnesota United fan base that’s surprised that the Loons have yet to bring in reinforcements.

“I think if someone had said to me three months ago that we’d be in a position on the 15th of August where we wouldn’t have a single player in the building, and four would have left, I would have found that hard to believe,” manager Eric Ramsay said in a postpractice media availability last Friday.

While nothing is final, the Loons are beginning to close in on some help.

Minnesota is near a deal to sign Dominik Fitz, who’s been one of the top players in the Austrian Bundesliga for several years. All that’s left is for Fitz to undergo a medical exam.

Fitz has spent his entire career with Austria Wien in Vienna and over the past three-plus seasons is the head-and-shoulders leader in goals plus assists in the league (he has 55; no other player has more than 43).

The 26-year-old, who is more firmly in the “prime age” category than some of Minnesota’s recent younger signings, would best fit in the Loons system as a right-sided attacker, perhaps a bit like a mirror image of Joaquín Pereyra in the Minnesota offense. His presence also might push Robin Lod into more of a role as a full-time central midfielder.

If the Loons complete the Fitz signing, it might help replace forward Tani Oluwaseyi, if the Canadian should depart. It’s been reported that Spanish giant Villarreal is close to signing Oluwaseyi, though Minnesota and Villarreal apparently differ on how much he might be worth. The transfer of Charlotte’s Patrick Agyemang, who went to the English second division for a reported $8 million, might be a comparable move. It would be a huge step up for the 25-year-old Oluwaseyi, who has 10 goals and eight assists this season for the Loons and has broken out in a big way over the past two years.

In terms of potential additions, Minnesota is interested in backup OGC Nice winger Billal Brahimi, who has been on the fringes of the Nice lineup in France’s Ligue 1 for years. His best year was probably 2022-23, when he scored five times for Nice in 37 appearances across all competitions. He got more playing time last season, on loan with Sint-Truidense in Belgium.

Minnesota is also potentially interested in doubling its South African contingent and adding 20-year-old winger Relebohile Mofokeng from Orlando Pirates in the South African league. Mofokeng has scored 10 goals over the past three seasons, good numbers for a player at his age — and better numbers than countryman Bongokuhle Hlongwane, who had seven goals in the South African league before arriving in MLS at a similar age.