Ismael Tajouri-Shradi re-signs with New York City FC in multi-year deal

TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Re-signing

Ismael Tajouri-Shradi has signed a new, multi-year contract with New York City FC, the club announced Thursday.

The 25-year-old Libyan forward has 19 goals and seven assists in 52 matches across all competitions in two seasons with NYCFC.

“I’m really happy to extend my contract to stay here with NYCFC who, from the first day, has showed me so much love,” Tajouri-Shradi said in a statement. “I just want to keep going with this amazing club in an incredible city.

“Since my first game at home, the fans have been amazing to me and the energy they give us every game is incredible. We have a really strong team and can achieve something bigger than the last few years this season. I’m excited for the start of the season and really happy to stay here for a few more years and win some titles with this amazing club.”

Tajouri-Shradi arrived via transfer from Austria Wien in Jan. 2018 and made an immediate impact with four goals in his first four appearances. He was second to David Villa in goals scored that year and was named the club’s Newcomer of the Year.

“We want to play attacking football and having wingers like Ismael makes our team incredibly hard to defend,” NYCFC coach Ronny Deila said. “He can run at defenders in one-v-one situations, but can also score from long range when given an inch of space. He’s dynamic and I love the skill set he brings to our side.”

Tajouri-Shradi has been capped four times by Libya, debuting against South Africa in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match.

Last year, he scored four goals in 19 league appearances and scored a playoff goal for the second consecutive year.

“Ismael has been a really impactful player since he joined the club and is now entering the prime part of his career,” NYCFC sporting director David Lee said. “We’ve been really pleased with his growth so far and fully expect him to take another leap in his development. I’m really happy that he wants to spend the next part of his career at NYCFC. He has a great locker room presence and fully deserves this new contract.”