New England Revolution Land Former Barcelona Midfielder

The New England Revolution continue to stay busy around the holidays with the club announcing yet another move. On Wednesday, the team announced that they had signed midfielder Wilfrid Kaptoum.

If you like your signings to have UEFA experience the 24-year-old has it. Kaptoum joined FC Barcelona’s ranks in 2008 at 12-years-old and developed at the legendary La Masia. He has over 100 professional appearances with FC Barcelona, Real Betis, and UD Almeria. Kaptoum’s most memorable moment with FC Barcelona would have been during the 2015-16 Copa del Rey when he scored his first career goal in the semifinals. Barcelona went on to win the Copa del Rey title that year. Between Barcelona and Real Betis, he appeared in five Copa del Rey matches, three starts.

“Wilfrid Kaptoum is a talented central midfielder who has been developed in an excellent soccer culture. He will bring a great work ethic and experience to our team,” Revolution Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena said. “Wilfrid’s pace and passing ability will help strengthen our midfield. We believe he will be a quality addition to the Revolution, and we look forward to his arrival in Foxborough.”

The Cameroonian signed with Real Betis in January 2018 and has been in their system for the past two seasons. Overall Kaptoum has appeared in 15 La Liga matches, 11 starts, and has appeared in 11 matches, 9 starts in the Segunda Division between Barcelona B and Almeria. In his La Liga action, he had a passing accuracy of 85.8% (345/402) and was 91.1% on short passes, 86.9% on medium passes, and 63.9% on long passes. He was credited with 1.26 completed final third passes per 90 minutes during his time in La Liga.

In terms of big-time competitions (sorry CCL), he has started one Champions League match and has appeared in two Europa League matches, one start. The international game is also a place where Kaptoum has experience. He represents Cameroon where he has had multiple call-ups and was on the bench during the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

Revolution Bolstering Depth In Key Area

For the Revolution, this was a much-needed area of investment. The midfield was a problem for them during the 2020 season and bringing in Kaptoum brings in a lot of potential and pedigree. This is a player that developed at FC Barcelona and has played in some of the best competitions the spot has to offer. And the fact that he is only 24-years-old is remarkable. At the end of the day, however, this is a player very few have heard about until today.

According to TransferMarket, the central midfielder has a market value of $2.2M, down from a peak of $4.4M in June of 2019. Based on the film you can see a player that has creativity in the midfield, can set up his teammates, and get off a dangerous shot when the situation calls for it. La Liga or even Segunda soccer is very different from MLS (sorry Bob Bradley) but the skills that Kaptoum possesses are ones that will easily transition to what the Revs want to do.

This was an important acquisition for the Revolution as it is the first new investment into the midfield which needs all the resources it can get at this point. With Kaptoum there is a lot of unknowns but that is normal in a move like this. Time will tell if this is a hit or a miss for Bruce Arena. Have to respect the fact that in a global pandemic they were able to scout this player (virtually) and pull the trigger on bringing him in.

Revolution First Team Midfield Roster

Subtract (6): Isaac Anking, Nicolas Firmino, Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen, Tommy McNamara, Kelyn Rowe

Add (2): Tommy McNamara, Wilfrid Kaptoum

Current (7): Luis Caicedo, Scott Caldwell, Carles Gil, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Tommy McNamara, Matthew Polster, Damian Rivera

New England will continue to make moves this off-season and they are certainly not done loading up in the midfield. I would expect them to bring in additional players who have experience (MLS or elsewhere) and then potentially take a shot in the MLS SuperDraft.

Revolution Off-Season Acquisitions Tracker

The Revolution have now officially made four additions to the first team this off-season.

12/19: GK Earl Edwards Jr. (MLS Free Agent)

12/21: DF Christian Mafla (INT Transfer)

12/22: MF Tommy McNamara (MLS Free Agent)

12/23: MF Wilfrid Kaptoum (INT Signing)

New England has been one of the busiest teams in all of MLS this off-season, and there is still a lot of work to be done. Have to like where this roster is trending so far.