New York City FC are delighted to announce the acquisition of Yangel Herrera on loan, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and ITC.
The Venezuelan, who captained his nation to third place at the South American U20 Championships, will spend the 2017 MLS season with NYCFC after he joined Manchester City on a permanent basis from Atletico Venezuela on January 31.
Herrera told NYCFC.com: “I’m very happy to take this next step in my career. To have the opportunity to play with such a high caliber of players is very exciting and to join a team that has a good football philosophy is very important to me.
“I’m looking forward to playing under Patrick Vieira as he’s someone who played my position and I know I’ll be able to learn a lot from him. I want to absorb all the good things from Patrick and the other players.”
Head Coach Patrick Vieira is delighted to have added Yangel to the roster for the upcoming campaign.
Vieira said: “Although Yangel is just starting out on his career, we believe he will make an impact in Major League Soccer once he’s settled into a new country and has adapted to our system of play.
“He’s a tactically intelligent midfielder who is strong in the tackle and reads the game well. Yangel also has good passing range and spatial awareness, which is crucial for a player in his position. I look forward to welcoming him to our squad after the South American Championships where he’s been playing very well for Venezuela.”
Sporting Director Claudio Reyna said: “We’re happy to have Yangel with us for the 2017 MLS season and he will provide strong competition for places in midfield.
“Yangel is recognized as an extremely promising young player in South America and we’re looking forward to seeing him develop during his time with us in New York,” continued Reyna. “We feel NYCFC will be a fantastic place for him to play, particularly working with Patrick Vieira who has excellent experience working with young players.”
A defensive midfielder who was born in La Guaira, 19 miles from Caracas, Herrera started out his youth career at Monagas SC before Atletico swooped in for his services last year.
In all, he represented Atletico on 32 occasions, helping them to the semifinals of the National Championships.
Herrera made his international debut against Brazil in a 2-0 defeat last year and he has just finished taking part in the South American U20 Championships where Venezuela advanced from Group B of the competition along with Argentina and Uruguay with Herrera scoring in the 1-1 draw against Peru.
He was on the scoresheet once again in the first game of the final stage last week, netting a stunning opener from range in a 4-2 win over hosts Ecuador.
Venezuela went on to finish in third place in the tournament – their best finish in the competition since 1954.
