Who is Kevin Kelsy? FC Cincinnati complete loan deal for Shakhtar striker

FC Cincinnati have finally signed their replacement for Brandon Vazquez. On Tuesday, the club announced the loan transfer of Venezuelan striker Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk. The 19-year-old will join the Major League Soccer club in a loan deal worth €650,000. Transfermarkt understands that Cincinnati will also have an option to make the transfer permanent at end of the season for $7m (€6.55m). That fee would make Kelsy the second most expensive transfer in club history (overview).

“We’re thrilled to have Kevin join the group,” FC Cincinnati general manager Chris Albright said in a club statement. “He’s a talented young player with incredible potential, and we look forward to working with him. He’s a physically gifted forward with a strong mentality who will fit in well with our team, and we’d like to welcome him to FC Cincinnati.”

Although a deal for Kelsy was already reached ahead of the MLS Primary Transfer Window closing on April 23, the announcement was held up as the player awaited his paperwork to travel to the United States. “I’m happy to join FC Cincinnati,” said Kelsy. “It's an exciting project at the club, and I look forward to my first game. I can’t wait to meet the fans and play my first game at TQL Stadium.”

Kevin Kelsy to FC Cincinnati: Young striker “in dire need of match practice” 

What sort of striker is Kelsy? “I can characterize him as a promising and technical young striker who is in dire need of match practice,” Transfermarkt Data Administrator World and a specialist in Eastern European football Evgeniy Fadeev said. “He has a good finish. Kelsy knows how to position his body during attacking runs and, despite his height, has quite a good technique. However, I would not say that speed is his best quality.” Kelsy did indeed struggle for playing time at Shakhtar but still managed to score on average every 168 minutes for the Ukrainian giants. 

The transfer fee raised some eyebrows. “I think this is a pretty good deal for Shakhtar in the future,” Fadeev said. Cincinnati, however, believe that Kelsy has the potential to meet the expectations that come with a potential $7m transfer fee. Although his market value is just €1.5m at the moment, the likes of Vazquez – signed for just $200,000 from Nashville and sold for $7m to Monterrey – highlight that Cincinnati is a place where players can increase their market value significantly.