All stats from FBref unless otherwise noted.

At Preseason Streams HQ, we’ve been keeping an eye on Leagues Cup but not with the kind of attention to detail required to offer nuanced opinions about much of anything. So, on the morning of FC Cincinnati’s final group stage game against maybe the most popular soccer team in North America, let’s dig into FC Cincinnati’s trio of recent (or soon to be) arrivals: Ender Echenique, Ayoub Jabbari, and Samuel Gidi.

Ayoub Jabbari

Pretty much out of nowhere, the Orange and Blue announced the signing of Ayoub Jabbari on loan (with an option to buy) from Ligue 2 side Grenoble.

Being on loan, Jabbari is also seemingly the most straightforward new FCC player to discuss because, presumably, he’s being brought in for what he can contribute this year. Even though FCC holds an option to bring Jabbari back permanently, there’s no long-term commitment being made. And the short-term nature of the initial loan means the front office must think he can contribute from the jump.

About Jabbari, General Manager Chris Albright said, “His physicality, work rate, and hold up play will be a valuable addition to our team. We expect him to be an immediate character fit within our group, and we look forward to him joining us in Cincinnati.”

Jabbari, listed at 6’4” on FCC’s press release and 6’6” on Fbref, should provide the Orange and Blue with a backup or alternate option to Kei Kamara, a position of need since the team’s return to a two true striker setup.

During the 2024-25 season at Grenoble, Jabbari was mostly utilized as a substitute, playing in 26 matches but starting just nine. He found ways to impact the game off the bench, however. Even though he scored just three goals, his 6.18 xG (0.47 xG/96) is a very solid level of production.

With the striker depth chart one name shallower after the departure of Corey Baird, Jabbari’s role for the rest of 2025 appears clear: be available off the bench and keep winning knock downs so Denkey doesn’t have to.

Albright isn’t forcing future FCC teams into a particular play style. The signing of Kamara allowed the Orange and Blue to adjust the team’s attacking structure on the fly but to retain the flexibility to reimagine it in the offseason if necessary. The same goes for Jabbari.

FCC is just a more effective team with Orellano (Ed. Note: Corrected from previous version that Barreal1) at wingback and Denkey free from the primary responsibility to hold up the ball. Jabbari’s arrival might ensure that the Orange and Blue can play in that style for the full 90 minutes of a match.

Two U22s

In addition to Jabbari, FCC added (or is in the process of adding) two U22 Initiative players: Echenique and Gidi.

For those of you not steeped in the MLS Roster Rules & Regulations, a player on a U22 contract only counts for $200,000 against the salary cap, regardless of their salary and amortized transfer fee. A U22 player can remain on that designation until they turn 25, meaning the entirety of Echenique’s first contract in Cincinnati should qualify.

In a salary capped league, getting a higher level of production from a player lower salary means a team can spend more money on more good players. So finding productive U22 players can supercharge a roster.

One problem: finding and signing good U22s is really, really difficult because the best teams in the world are looking for the best young talent. So a U22 player in MLS isn’t going to be able to check all the boxes you might want, making the error bars on the signing much, much wider.

Opta’s Team Power Rankings aren’t perfect but they provide a window into league and team strength. FCC is ranked much more highly by Opta, which shouldn’t really be a surprise.

Wyscout has data on 72 of Echenique’s games and 111 of Gidi’s. Even against lower levels of competition, that means those players have more of a professional footprint than some other signings, hopefully narrowing those error bars just a bit.

There are only so many options to put together the best possible MLS roster. A while back I wrote about taking an All of the Above strategy to team building and U22s are vital to that idea. For the first time in Albright’s tenure in charge, FCC will have three U22 players.

The odds are stacked against all three being above average contributors but the surplus value from hitting on even one is massive. It just takes money, and, like in most sports, ownership’s willingness to spend can be a huge competitive advantage. As long as ownership is willing to keep taking multi-million dollar swings, FCC will benefit on the field.

Ender Echenique

Ender Echenique was the Orange and Blue’s first signing of the summer. The 21-year-old joined as a U22 Initiative player on a four-and-a-half year contract from Caracas FC.

When he was announced, Albright said, “He’s a dynamic, young player who will add to our group with his versatility and pace. We are excited to work with him and look forward to his continued development.”

Echenique’s pace was evident in his debut against FC Juárez on Sunday, providing something FCC hasn’t really had as an option off the bench. If Echenique can just be a field stretcher coming off the bench to attack fatigued defenders for the rest of the season, he’ll be a useful addition.

In Venezuela, Echenique showed an ability to be dangerous. With more than 70 professional matches already under his belt, he’s proved to be good enough to contribute in the attack.

Since May 2024, over 35 games, Echenique contributed 10.62 xG+xA, which is fine but not great.

But there shouldn’t be any expectation that Echenique is a finished product because if he was, he probably wouldn’t have been available to FCC. There’s time to bring him along slowly but, for lack of a better term, the juice he brings should play right away.

As he adjusts to a new league (and country), hopefully his game will improve as well. In the long term, Echenique looks to be an excellent roster fit, as he provides an attacking option on the right. Though he hasn’t played wingback much (if at all) in his career, Pat Noonan’s School For Wingers Who Become Very Attacking Wingbacks school remains open. Even though a lineup featuring both Luca Orellano and Echenique at left and right wingback respectively probably wouldn’t work due for defensive reasons, having attacking options on both flanks is something the Orange and Blue just haven’t had.

Echenique won’t hinder bigger tactical and personnel shifts in the offseason, too. For instance, if FCC’s future is primarily with four defenders instead of five, Echenique should be able to fit seamlessly in as a winger opposite Orellano.

Samuel Gidi

A first draft of this piece featured a full section about how both Echenique and Jabbari made sense as additions but midfield depth still seemed like FCC’s Achilles’ Heel for the rest of the season. No longer (hopefully).

On Tuesday, Tom Bogert reported the Orange and Blue were close to signing midfielder Samuel Gidi from MŠK Žilina in the Slovakian Super Liga as the team’s third U22 player.

According to Transfermarkt, the $2 million fee for Gidi ranks 7th all time in terms of outgoing transfers for Žilina. Some notable names whose fees eclipsed Gidi’s include Milan Škriniar and Jakub Kiwior.

As noted above, there’s a big gap between FCC’s level and MŠK Žilina’s. Wyscout has data for the Super Liga but without a lot more work to put those numbers in context, they’re not all that helpful. Even against better competition, (Gidi has played in 520 minutes in UEFA Conference League games), we don’t have nearly enough information to say anything other than: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.

But the process seems right to me. There was a clear need for help in central midfield on FCC’s roster. Ideally, Gidi provides an option who can do a little bit of what Pavel Bucha does and a little bit of what Obi Nwobodo does.2 Like Echenique, Gidi’s game should be malleable across different game models.

We probably won’t have an answer anytime soon but bringing Gidi to the Queen City fills a need and seems like the right swing to make.