Loudoun sign Amoustapha, Ferrin, Gamble for 2021

Three very easy player decisions who return for the ponies.

A day after D.C. United announced their new head coach, Loudoun United announced they had re-signed three players, bringing midfielders Kairou Amoustapha and Massimo Ferrin, along with forward Michael Gamble, back for the 2021 season.

The 27-year-old Gamble wore the #10 shirt for Loudoun last season and played as a second forward/midfielder while served as one of the team’s leaders, playing for coach Ryan Martin for the first time at the pro level after being recruited by Martin to play at Wake Forest while Martin was an assistant coach there. Gamble led attacking players in minutes played in 2020 and appeared in 12 of the team’s 13 games, starting 11 and recording one assist.

The 22-year-old Ferrin was a late preseason addition to the roster and dealt with injury in part of the season, but his play on the wings was enough to impress the coaching staff to allow him to work with D.C. after the early cancellation of Loudoun’s 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Along with Ferrin, Amoustapha was another of those players and served as the team’s discovery. Following a lengthy journey to get to Loudoun, the 20-year-old winger came late to the restarting of Loudoun’s season, but still managed to appear in nine games (starting eight), and registered three goals and an assist. He also earned his first senior team appearance for Niger in November during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers.

More players expect to be announced gradually as Loudoun begins preseason and eventually the start of their 2021 season, expected to be sometime during April/May.