New York Red Bulls complete loan signing of Brazilian forward Elias Manoel from Gremio | OneFootball

The New York Red Bulls have strengthened their forward line with the loan signing of Brazilian striker Elias Manoel from Gremio, the club announced Saturday.

Manoel's move was completed before the closing of the MLS secondary transfer window on Thursday evening.

The 20-year-old has spent his entire professional career so far with Gremio, scoring nine goals in 40 appearances since making his debut in March 2021. Manoel was his side's top scorer during their successful 2022 Campeonato Gaucho campaign, hitting the net four times in seven matches.

“We are excited to add Elias to our roster for the rest of the season,” Red Bulls head of sport Jochen Schneider said in a club press release. “From what we have seen from Elias, we believe he has the abilities to succeed at the MLS level.”

Despite enjoying a strong regular season so far, RBNY's existing strike force, Tom Barlow and Patryk Klimala, have scored just eight goals combined in 2022, so signing a new No.9 was top of their priority list this summer.

“I am happy to welcome Elias to our club,” said Red Bulls head coach Gerhard Struber. “He is an exciting young player, and we are excited to see what we can bring to this team this season.”

The Red Bulls travel to DC United on Saturday looking to end a run of three defeats in their last four competitive matches across all competitions.