August 13, 2008

Red Bulls make formal offer for Kandji, now what?

It's a really tough situation for the Atlanta Silverbacks. They've been playing host to Macoumba Kandji over the last 2 seasons, one of the most exciting young prospects in American soccer. He's raw, but he has been a force in the USL-D1 since he joined the first time late last season. It was only a matter of time before he started attracting attention from bigger clubs. A recent hot streak has coincided with the transfer window to create quite the dilemma for the Silverbacks. According to the New York media, the Red Bulls have made a formal offer for Kandji, with the rumored figures being in the $200,000 range.

What should the Silverbacks do?

The team is sitting in 5th place right now, four points clear of falling out of the playoff picture. However, seven more road games await them, with only two home games left. It's not going to be easy to hold onto that spot. While the team has strengthened their defense by adding T&T regular Brent Sancho, the defense has been the weak link this season. It's been Kandji and his offensive cohorts leading the league in scoring that has made up for the league's worst defense. If the team sells him, there's going to be even more pressure on Toure, McLaughlin, and Monteiro to score goals.

The other question is, will his value increase? He's just turned 23, and should be entering into his prime value years. Will they make more money by holding onto him until the winter transfer window? The Red Bulls have made offers for two other forwards as well. Maybe the Silverbacks should wait to see if they fall through, they might be able to squeeze more cash out of New York as they get more desperate to add a striker before Friday's transfer deadline.

It's not an easy position to be in. What would you do?

EDIT, 6:20 PM: Scratch that with Toure, he's been dealt to Miami FC for Sean Cameron and an undisclosed transfer fee. Any implications on the Kandji offer?

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