FC Cincy's Koch: We still have interest in USMNT's Johnson

Ryan Tolmich

FC Cincy's Koch: We still have interest in USMNT's Johnson image

As the club continues to build towards its first season in MLS, FC Cincinnati still has interest in Fabian Johnson.

Head coach Alan Koch admitted his side is still interested after pushing to sign the U.S. national team veteran over the summer.

The 31-year-old winger has made eight appearances for Borussia Monchengladbach this season.

"We definitely have interest in Fabian," Koch told Sports Illustrated.

"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."

Johnson, who has earned 57 caps for the U.S., has spent his entire career in the Bundesliga. 

The winger, who represented Germany from the U-17 to the U-21 level before joining the U.S. program, made stops at 1860 Munich, Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim before joining Borussia Monchengladbach on a free transfer in 2014.

He went on to appear in that summer's World Cup while becoming a key presence for the USMNT at both left midfield and left back.

"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."

FC Cincy has signed a number of players from its USL teams and selected Darren Mattocks, Eric Alexander, Hassan Ndam and Roland Lamah in Tuesday's Expansion Draft.

The club also made a splash by acquiring Greg Garza and Kendall Waston by trade on Tuesday.

 

Ryan Tolmich