Earlier this week, Last Word On Sports downplayed rumours that Ambroise Oyongo was on his way to the Montreal6 Impact. This information came courtesy of Oyongo’s agent, Nicolas Onissé, who said he had received no information about a potential move from New York Red Bulls management. Instead, he was expecting to meet with this management group at the conclusion of the Africa Cup of Nations to discus his client’s future. Oyongo is currently playing for Cameroon, who play their final group game against Ivory Coast tomorrow.
So Nicolas Onissé was shocked this morning when he received a call from Red Bulls management that told him his client, along with Eric Alexander, had been traded to the Montreal Impact in exchange for Felipe and the top spot in the MLS allocation draft rankings. This was in complete contrast from what Onissé was told by New York at the end of the season, which indicated Oyongo was in the team’s plans for the future. As a result they refused several offers the player had received.
“I had offers for Ambroise,” Onissé tells Last Word On Sports. “[New York] refused claiming to need him next season, and today he’s [with] Montreal. Incomprehensible!”
It was confirmed early this week that Oyongo still has other offers from Europe which he was considering. This would make sense considering his solid performance for Cameroon at the Africa Cup of Nations, for which he has been earning plenty of praise. He even scored a goal against Mali in the team’s opening match which salvaged a point for the “indomitable lions”. He was expecting to deal with his future after the tournament, which evidently remains his top priority despite today’s transfer news. He had no knowledge of the potential move to Montreal.
“Transferring a player, without telling him, without asking his opinion remains a serious problem in MLS,” explained Onissé, saying that when players sign in the league, they should know that they no longer control their future.
This will not be new to Montreal supporters, who dealt with the same situation when Issey Nakajima-Farran was traded from Toronto FC midway through last season. Being as it was the player’s birthday, and he had just gotten settled in North America and Toronto, Nakajima-Farran infamously called the move “inhumane.” After scoring a pair of goals in his short stint with Toronto, he never really featured for Montreal. Ultimately, he was let go by the team earlier this month and it is not known at this time where his future lies.
As with everything else, Oyongo and his agent plan on dealing with this news after the Africa Cup of Nations has concluded. However, this is just the latest strike against a New York management that is truly under fire right now, a blaze that ignited red hot after the recent dismissal of Mike Petke. The move, as it stands, could ultimately be in the best interest for the club as they are now the theoretical leaders in terms of acquiring returning American international Sacha Kljestan. Felipe Martins is also a nice piece who will add to their attack. But they might have burned a couple of bridges in the process.
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Featured Photo by Bill Twomey, Bill Twomey Photography
