Cincinnati “continue to have interest” in US international Fabian Johnson

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Over the summer, FC Cincinnati came close to acquiring US international Fabian Johnson, but the deal didn’t get done. That said, head coach Alan Koch won’t rule out another try in the future. 

Speaking to Grant Wahl on SI Now Live this week, Koch admitted that the expansion side still have interest in Johnson.   

“We definitely have interest in Fabian,” Koch told Wahl. “We had interest, we continue to have interest. I think a lot of teams would be very wise to take that approach. We’re definitely exploring all sorts of different things.”

“We definitely have interest in Fabian.” @FCCincinnati manager Alan Koch discusses the MLS expansion club’s potential of renewing attempts to sign USMNT’s Fabian Johnson (via @SINowLIVE)pic.twitter.com/0bTPC2N4Fp

— Grant Wahl (@GrantWahl) December 12, 2018

Johnson, 31, has made eight appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach this season. He has spent his entire career in the Bundesliga, with stops at 1860 Munich, VfL Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim. A key starter on the 2014 World Cup squad, Johnson has made 57 appearances for the USMNT. 

“We have a lot of respect for Fabian. He’s playing for an excellent club in the Bundesliga, obviously having a good season, too,” Koch said. “We’ll see. We’re not going to focus on one player, we’ll look at all different guys that we can try and acquire.”

Cincy have rapidly expanded their roster since Atlanta United won the 2018 MLS Cup on Saturday. They signed five players from their USL squad and held their Expansion Draft, in which they selected Darren Mattocks, Eric Alexander, Hassan Ndam and the rights to Roland Lamah, before acquiring Greg Garza and Kendall Waston by trade later on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, MLSsoccer.com’s Sam Stejskal reported that the club have signed former Poland international goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton, while pursuing several other transactions.