The Rapids are teasing the announcement of a new addition at 10am tomorrow. First reported by Tom Bogert and confirmed by Brenden Ploen and Burgundy Wave, this is expected to be midfielder Youssef Maziz.
Maziz is a 28 year old (as of last month) attacking midfielder who's play is mainly as a chance creator, something the team desperately needs. Born in France he is of Moroccan decent and has dual nationality. His only international caps are two appearances with the French U-16 team. He joined the Metz youth academy at 15 and stayed with the club working his way up to the first team in 2017 but spent most of his time on loan in the lower French leagues until he left Metz for Belgian side OH Leuven in 2023. OHL has been a solid mid-table team in his time there.
Youssef is available on a free transfer as he's now out of contract and is expected to sign a TAM deal. He'll be available as soon as his visa is processed and given the current government issues with visas we probably shouldn't expect that too quickly. I would assume he would slot into the starting lineup as soon as he's available, so I'd expect the center trio to be Ojediran, Maziz, and Aaronson.
Obviously Maziz is an unknown to all of us, but the reality of being a Rapids fan is that we're not going to go out and assign a 'name' player. Far too often that's meant we get a Namli or a Ilic, but occasionally we find a Rafa or a Herrington. The positive sign with this signing is this isn't a player who doesn't fit the team (at least on paper) or is coming in at a established position. This is somebody who fills a rea hole on the team, something our summer signings haven't always been able to say. This doesn't turn us into a contender, but it seems like a move to push us that direction.
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