On Thursday morning, FC Cincinnati announced their fourth move of the summer window after sealing Derrick Etienne Jr. on loan from the New York Red Bulls for the remainder of the season.
Here’s why the move makes sense.
For the club
General Manager Gerard Nijkamp said he wanted depth on the wings and sealed his second winger signing on the final day of the transfer window.
While Etienne Jr. was primarily used as a super sub for RBNY, perhaps that can change at Cincinnati. With him and Joseph-Claude Gyau both joining, there’s significant depth and an abundance of players from whom Head Coach Ron Jans can choose.
It’s worth noting as recently as a month ago, assistant coach Yoann Damet was essentially only able to use Emmanuel Ledesma and Kekuta Manneh out wide. That’s changed, and along with that change, FC Cincinnati have multiple players with different player traits that can be used for the remainder of the 2019 regular season.
Unlike Gyau, Etienne Jr. has MLS experience and that should be seen instantly.
In addition, if the loan goes well, the Haiti international can always have an extended stay in Cincinnati.
For the player
Cincinnati is a fresh start for the Haiti international, who’s only played 11 games this season. By comparison, last year he played 30.
Just because Etienne Jr. joined FC Cincinnati doesn’t mean he’ll be an instant start, but he’s someone who should make the 18 and can work his way into the lineup.
Because it’s a loan, it’s critical the Orange and Blue maximize everything they can out of the winger in the last 10 games. The same can be said for Etienne Jr. With limited time here – and knowing minutes were already slashed in New York – Cincinnati offers an opportunity.
Like was mentioned above, he has a chance to stay long term if the loan goes well. That should be a great motivator.
One last thing…
Orange and Blue fans should have some familiarity with Etienne Jr., who’s played against Cincinnati multiple times since the USL days. Back in 2016, he featured twice for Red Bulls II in meetings and started in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal meeting at Nippert Stadium in 2017.
He was an unused sub in both matches against FCC this season.
Considering he played against Cincinnati in 2016, he’s the only player FCC have seen regularly since 2016 across multiple seasons in the USL and MLS. Now, he’ll be a Nippert Stadium regular.
