{"id":3869,"date":"2017-02-06T17:22:55","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T22:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsoccer.com\/?p=3869"},"modified":"2017-02-06T17:23:27","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T22:23:27","slug":"fc-cincinnati-lands-mansaray-loan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/soccer\/2017\/02\/06\/fc-cincinnati-lands-mansaray-loan\/","title":{"rendered":"FC Cincinnati Lands Seattle Talent Victor Mansaray on Loan"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Monday,\u00a0FC Cincinnati<\/a> announced the acquisition of forward Victor Mansaray from the Seattle Sounders on loan.\u00a0The 19 year-old is the fourth\u00a0attacking player to\u00a0join the Ohio club\u00a0this offseason. FC Cincinnati\u00a0finished third overall on points in 2016, but they ranked 10th in goals scored. Offensive improvement has been identified as a priority for club’s\u00a0sophomore\u00a0campaign.<\/p>\n

FC Cincinnati Lands Seattle Talent Mansaray on Loan<\/h2>\n

A Sounders academy product, Mansaray signed a Homegrown contract with the club in 2014 at the tender age of 17. A\u00a0native of Sierra Leone, he\u00a0and his family spent time in Jamaica before settling\u00a0in Washington state,\u00a0south of Seattle. He made his\u00a0MLS debut for\u00a0the Sounders in a scoreless draw against FC Dallas in 2015, and\u00a0logged three appearances\u00a0with the MLS\u00a0team. In 2015-2016, Mansaray accumulated games and minutes\u00a0with USL’s Seattle Sounders 2. He scored\u00a0five goals in 19\u00a0appearances last season.\u00a0Mansaray will have a familiar face to greet him when he arrives. He and newly acquired forward Andy Craven overlapped in\u00a0Seattle during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.<\/p>\n

Mansaray is a member\u00a0of the US Soccer Youth National team setup, featuring for both the U-18 and U-20 teams. He\u00a0is currently<\/em>\u00a0participating\u00a0in the January 2017 US U-20 camp<\/a> in Orlando, under the supervision of head coach\u00a0Tab Ramos. If selected, he would participate in the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championship in Costa Rica, which lasts through early March. Four teams from that tournament will participate in the\u00a02017 FIFA U-20 Men\u2019s World Cup in South Korea this May.\u00a0He has made 16 total appearances for the US and scored two goals for his adopted country.<\/p>\n

Mansaray fits the profile of a\u00a0promising young striker that can fill\u00a0the void left by Sean Okoli. MLS scouting reports on Mansaray describe him as a “natural wide player”<\/a>, but he has featured as a center forward more recently with\u00a0Sounders 2.\u00a0Head coach John Harkes will host\u00a0an interesting and competitive preseason as he\u00a0attempts to integrate the\u00a0newly acquired firepower into a system that produces goals and results.<\/p>\n

FC Cincinnati’s second season begins on March 25th when they face the Charleston Battery at\u00a0MUSC\u00a0Health Stadium.<\/p>\n

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Embed from Getty Images<\/a><\/div>\n