On Tuesday morning, Minnesota United announced the signing of Cameroonian international defender Bertrand Owundi Eko’o on a free transfer from Rainbow FC in Cameroon.
Owundi is a 24-year-old left-footed defensive player, whose 6-foot-2 stature makes him another big defender for the Loons. For the sake of comparison, Owundi’s 6-foot-2/190lb listing is exactly the same as that of veteran center-back Brent Kallman.
Owundi joins midfielder Frantz Pangop as the second young Cameroonian international to join United this offseason. The club’s release lists Owundi as a left-sided defender, but Transfermarkt has him listed as a defensive midfielder. His two international caps for Cameroon came in January’s African Nations Championship (CHAN), in which international teams must use players who play in their own domestic league rather than their entire player pool.
He played 90 minutes in both his appearances, both 1-0 losses, and was called for the penalty that gave Angola its 1-0 lead.
Head coach Adrian Heath’s comments from the team press release underline what kind of move this is. “We felt it wasn’t a gamble, but an opportunity to bring in two young pieces for not a lot of financial output that we think have got huge upside,” Heath said.
Low-risk, low-cost, high-upside players will have time to adapt to playing in the United States with little to no pressure for the foreseeable future.
