It’s official.
The New York Red Bulls officially announced today the acquisition of Mathias Jørgensen from Odense Boldklub using Targeted Allocation Money, becoming New York’s youngest rostered first-team player in 2019.
Sporting Director Denis Hamlett spoke with reporters after the announcement was made, and touched on the process in acquiring the talented forward who he said wanted to be a part of the Red Bulls organization.
“We've been following him for a while, we have a scouting network set up, and he’s someone that we've been keeping an eye on,” Hamlett said. “The important thing is, when tracking players, it’s about timing and when the right opportunity comes for a player to make that move to come across, because it's never easy. He's a talented young player and I think it speaks volumes that a young player coming from Europe wants to be part of the New York Red Bulls and Major League Soccer.”
When asked if Jørgensen would spend time with the second team, Hamlett said it remains to be seen, but does feel like Jørgensen has the qualities that could help the first team immediately.
“I think that remains to be seen but the key part is, like when I think with any young person coming into our team, we feel like part of it is that adaptation process of playing in our league, our culture, but I think that that takes time,” Hamlett said. “We feel like as a striker he has some dynamic tools that we feel that will help us right off the bat. He's someone that is a team player and his willingness to play for the team and I think it's going to be a good fit for us.”
As talented as Jørgensen is, Hamlett said his character played a big part in deciding to bring him over.
“For an 18-year-old young man he is pretty clear in terms of his thoughts, his ideas,” Hamlett said. “He's very humble, he’s got a good attitude. His willingness to be a team player, in the end, when I sort of look and think like this is the character part. We all know that when you look at the players, you know, the tactical and the physical parts of it. Those are components we look at, but for us, character is a big piece for us because of the culture that we're trying to create and bringing the right people that are team players.”
Jørgensen has yet to join the club for preseason camp, as the team is still waiting on clearance with the ITC, but the club is looking forward to getting him on the field.
“We're really excited we’re able to get this across the line and looking to having him as soon as we get clearance with the ITC," Hamlett said. "We're looking forward to having him join our camp.”
