New York City FC seems to have found its replacement for the goal scorer Alonso Martínez.
Mali international striker Moussa Sylla is closing in on a deal that would make him Big Apple-bound, according to multiple reports, which first surfaced over the weekend.
Sylla, 26, will make the move to the United States after spending the last two seasons with German second-division side Schalke, scoring four goals and recording two assists in 17 appearances this season.
Sylla was kept out of Schalke’s match on Sunday and in a statement on social media the club said that he “is facing a move abroad and is therefore not part of the matchday squad” and that a “basic agreement” had been reached, though it did not identify the club he was going to.
NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen hinted last week that the club was closing in on bringing in some help to fill the hole left by Martínez’s injury.
“It’s our desire and our wish to find somebody with the perfect profile to come and support this dressing room again. this is one of the other requests that I had brought to the board and to the CEO and the sporting director, to look into the possibilities to bring in a new No 9 as well,” Jansen revealed during his first preseason media availability.
“And that’s looking good so far. We’re in the process, and hopefully we can move soon.”
New sporting director Todd Dunivant had also told The Post last week in an exclusive 1-on-1 interview that NYCFC was “working pretty hard” to add “reinforcements.”
Sky Sports Germany reporter Patrick Berger reported that the guaranteed transfer fee will be around $7.1 million and that some of that money will go to Ligue 2 club Pau FC, where Sylla had played before getting to Schalke.
Finding a replacement for Martínez was one of NYCFC’s biggest tasks this offseason after he had been injured during international duty with Costa Rica back in November, which later required surgery to repair the ACL injury.
Martínez played a big role in New York City FC’s first-round series against Charlotte FC and had 17 goals for the club during the regular season.
He’s expected to miss a large part of the 2026 season.
Bringing in Sylla is the second move that NYCFC reportedly made over the weekend, with ESPN Australia reporting that Kai Trewin was being brought in by New York City FC from Melbourne City FC in the A-League.
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