Denkey set to switch Cercle Brugge for MLS in record move | OneFootball

Cercle Brugge striker Kevin Denkey (23) is heading stateside to FC Cincinnati. According to HLN editors, Cercle have reached an agreement with the Americans and the Togolese goal scorer will become the most expensive incoming transfer ever for the MLS, moving over in January.

Cercle have a deal with Cincinnati for 16.6 million euros, of which 15.3 million euros is a fixed transfer fee – plus another 10 percent for a future transfer. In all probability, it seems that the transfer will be completed today.

Denkey joined Cercle in January 2021 for just €2m from Nîmes Olympique and became a major hit last season, winning the Golden Boot with 27 goals in 38 Jupiler Pro League games. This season, Denkey has scored 11 goals and six assists in 23 games across all competitions, which makes him the best scorer aged 23 or younger in Europe’s top ten leagues.

As per Transfermarkt, the striker travelled to the United States to complete his medical and watch the playoff game between Cincinnati and New York City FC (5-6 after penalties).

As such, Denkey missed Cercle’s 5-0 home defeat to RSC Anderlecht. With that match highlighting Cercle’s dependence on the Togo star, the Belgian club would have liked to keep the forward until the winter break, but Cincinnati shut down that proposal. As a compromise, Denkey will be allowed to play a few games for Cercle until the end of the season.

Denkey will become the most expensive incoming transfer ever in MLS. The record price was previously held by Argentinians Gonzalo ‘Pity’ Martinez and Thiago Almada, two players for whom FC Atlanta once transferred 14.5 million euros to River Plate in 2019 and to Velez Sarsfield in 2022. Martinez has since returned to River Plate after a brief stint in Saudi Arabia with Al Nassr. Almada currently plays in Brazil with Botafogo.

For Cercle Brugge, the transfer fee for Denkey means a new record incoming transfer fee, beating Ayase Ueda’s 12 million euro move to Feyenoord in the summer of 2023.

GBeNeFN | Max Bradfield