Chicago Fire Acquires Sanna Nyassi

Published on July 29, 2014 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release

CHICAGO (July 29, 2014) - The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced Tuesday that the club has acquired midfielder Sanna Nyassi from the Montreal Impact in exchange for Dilly Duka. Per MLS and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Sanna is a versatile, attack-minded player who will provide depth and strengthen our squad as we embark on the second half of the season," said Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Soccer Frank Yallop. "I'd like to thank Dilly for his time in Chicago and wish him well as he heads to Montreal."

Selected by the Impact as the eighth pick in the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft from the Colorado Rapids, Nyassi scored eight goals and added four assists in 54 regular season matches and helped the Impact to back-to-back Amway Canadian Championship in 2013 and 2014.

Born in Bwiam, Gambia, Nyassi made his professional debut with Ports Authority FC in 2004. In 2006, he won the League 1 Championship and scored the game-winning goal in the subsequent year to win the 2007 Gambian FA Cup.

Nyassi signed with Seattle Sounders FC on Sept. 6, 2006 and was loaned to the Sounders for the final month of the USL PRO season. In 2009, he appeared in 14 regular season games for the Sounders and scored one goal en route to the 2009 U.S. Open Cup. In 2010, Nyassi scored two goals and added three assists in 24 regular season matches. Nyassi scored two goals as the Sounders defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 and repeated as U.S. Open Cup champions.

Nyassi spent the 2011 season with the Colorado Rapids, scoring five goals and adding five assists in 26 regular season matches.

The 25-year-old midfielder made his international debut with the Gambian national team in 2010. He has since earned six caps, playing two games in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers against the Ivory Coast and Morocco.

Duka joined the Fire from the Columbus Crew on Feb. 4, 2013. The Montville, NJ native departs after appearing in 37 regular season matches for the Men in Red.

Name: Sanna Nyassi

Position: Midfielder

Height: 5'7"

Weight: 146 lbs.

Date of Birth: January 31, 1989

Birthplace: Bwiam, Gambia

Citizenship: Gambia and USA

Acquired: Via trade on July 29, 2014

Twitter: @asnyassi16

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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