Transfer Tracker

FC Cincinnati transfer winger Isaac Atanga to Norway's Aalesunds FK

Isaac Atanga.transfer

TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Transfer

FC Cincinnati have recalled winger Isaac Atanga from his loan to Turkish club Göztepe SK and transferred him to Norwegian side Aalesunds FK for an undisclosed fee, the club announced Friday.

The 22-year-old departs Cincy with one goal and two assists in 23 appearances (12 starts) totaling just under 1,100 minutes. He was originally acquired in March 2021 from Danish Superligaen side FC Nordsjaelland via the U22 Initiative.

“First, we’d like to thank Isaac for his contributions to FC Cincinnati,” Cincy general manager Chris Albright said in a release. “Isaac’s a good kid, and we look forward to the next step in his development with Aalesunds. We wish him all the best for the future.”

Atanga had two goals and one assist in 17 matches for Göztepe. In Aalesunds, he joins a Norwegian team that finished their 2022 campaign mid-table.

While Atanga didn’t pan out as Cincy hoped, the club has found success with the U22 Initiative. Argentine wingback Alvaro Barreal has thrived, while Ecuador international midfielder Marco Angulo arrived this offseason via that roster-building mechanism. Columbus Crew center back Gustavo Vallecilla was also previously a U22 Initiative player for Cincy.