On April 20, the New York Red Bulls acquired midfielder, Frankie Amaya from FC Cincinnati. New York traded $950,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) in exchange for the 20-year-old, who has scored one goal in 40 MLS appearances. $500,000 in 2021 and $450,000 in 2022.
Amaya signed a three-year contract with the Red Bulls that "will go into effect in 2022" and includes the option for an additional season. Head of Sport, Kevin Thelwell finishes his busy offseason having brought in 13 players, five of whom are midfielders. 18-year-old Wikelman Carmona, and 19-year-old Cameron Harper will take time to develop, but it is a good sign that the 18-year-old Venezuelan performed well in the Red Bulls' home opener on Sunday Apr. 18.
New York Red Bulls' Spanish radio host Stefano Fusaro recently interviewed Amaya and asked him about his best attributes and how he thinks he will fit into the Coach Struber's system.
"I'm a box-to-box midfielder, I win a lot of balls going forward and my defensive transition is very good. I feel like we're a good pressing team and I think that's my strongest trait. I like to press, to defend some of the best players in the league. I like proving myself to the best players in the league so I feel like I fit the system well on the defensive side." - New York Red Bulls midfielder, Frankie Amaya
Even when the Red Bulls won the MLS Supporters' Shield during the 2010s, they never had a world-class attacking midfielder who could score from distance. Last season, Amaya scored his first MLS goal, which was a cool curling shot from outside the 18-yard-box against Atlanta United in the "MLS is Back" Tournament.
.@frankie_amaya scores his first career MLS goal!#ATLvCIN #MLSisBack pic.twitter.com/E9Uo4kP5pg
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) July 16, 2020
Head coach, Gerhard Struber explained what it is that makes Amaya an attractive talent and what the coaching staff's responsibility is in making Amaya fit into the squad.
"His technical skills and ability with the ball will give us more control and more options in transition and in the final third. The task for us as a coaching staff will be to integrate him quickly and immerse him in our tactics and game plan." - Red Bulls head coach Gerhard Struber
Red Bulls Add Celtic Striker
On Apr. 23, the New York Red Bulls completed a $4.8-million-transfer of 22-year-old striker, Patryk Klimala from Celtic in Scotland. The 22-year-old striker from Poland will occupy an International slot and a young designated player slot on the Red Bull roster.
Klimala is the third player that the Red Bulls brought in from Celtic along with left-back Andrew Gutman who started in the Red Bull's home opener and 19-year-old attacking midfielder Cameron Harper who did not start last Sunday. Klimala may have spent just one year with Celtic and scored just three goals while in Scotland, but the Celtic fans showed their love for the player they called their "Polish Paddy" on social media.
Thank you, @CelticFC 🍀 pic.twitter.com/fes4sE03rD
— Patryk Klimala (@KlimalaPatryk) April 23, 2021
From 2019 to 2020, the would score three goals in ten games for Poland’s U-21 National Team. In the Polish league, the young striker scored seven goals and three assists in 17 games. The six-foot-tall Klimala is the 13th player that Red Bulls have added this offseason and Head Coach Gerhard Struber described what attributes Klimala will bring to Red Bull Arena this summer.
At both the club and youth international level he has shown that he has high potential. He demonstrates a strong work ethic against the ball, which is very important to our style of play, and has very good instincts around the goal. His movement and ability in the final third give the team another weapon.
Where do Amaya and Klimala Fit?
The Red Bulls only produced one goal in their first game of the season. That goal does not reflect the team showing much chemistry offensively, because the lone goal that New York did score was a decent cross leading to a lucky bounce falling to Caden Clark who would score this special one-time volley. If the Red Bull offense succeeds in 2021, a striker with a strong mentality, who wants to dominate the opposing team, needs to step up and fill that number-one striker role.
Brazilian transfer, Fabío headed a cross from Kyle Duncan, who was the starting right-back in New York's home opener, that fell to Clark, who took the opportunity on the volley to score the first goal of his career at Red Bull Arena. Fabio had a decent game as the team's lone striker, but he did not score, so it remains to be seen if the tall Brazilian will be the Red Bulls' starting striker going forward.
It's very likely that Head Coach Struber gives Klimala a chance to show his quality in upcoming matches against L.A. Galaxy on Apr. 25 and at Red Bull Arena against Chicago on May 2. Meanwhile, Frankie Amaya seems to be a well-rounded midfielder, who also has two years of MLS-experience and could see game-action soon. The Red Bulls are on the road for their next match, a date with L.A. Galaxy at 5:30 PM this Sunday. The team will be looking for their first win of the 2021 season.
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