Tomi Ameobi for the Cosmos?

Tomi Ameobi should be a familiar face for Cosmos’ fans. The fierce attacker was very dangerous against New York and the rest of the NASL for that matter.

Fortunately, or maybe not so for the Eddies and the NASL, Ameobi was released by Edmonton just days ago. Ameobi was among three other players whose contract had come to an end with the Canadian club.

According to the club’s press release, Daryl Fordyce, Dustin Corea, Sainey Nyassi and Ameobi all departed from the Eddies. Fordyce is another key piece that was released, as he was Edmonton’s all-time leading goal scorer.

This obviously leaves a huge void in the club’s squad at the moment. But as they say, one’s loss is another’s gain, which could be the narrative for the Cosmos in the offseason. Plus, Edmonton has a sublime academy in place that is filled with young players waiting to turn heads in the NASL.

Ameobi played his youth soccer with Newcastle United and Leeds United. The 29-year-old was the longest serving Eddie, with four seasons under his belt as of the 2017 season.

The native of England scored 6 goals this past season, all in a variety of different ways. 3 goals were with his head while 1 goal came of his left foot and the 2 off the right.

He notched 2 assists this past campaign, creating 25 chances in the process. Ameobi had a 67 percent pass success rate which is really good for a dedicated striker.

Defensively, he had 18 clearances and 7 interceptions. Ameobi amassed 10 tackles while winning 145 duels.

Surprisingly, Ameobi didn’t get nominated for any NASL league awards. The attacker was surely one of the only bright spots in the Eddies campaign, especially when they were struggling.

The Cosmos can only sign so many players in the off-season. Giuseppe Gentile was taken into consideration, while a flood of other Puerto Rico FC players hit the market as well. Now the same has happened to Edmonton, leaving the rest of the NASL to pick and choose.

Of course, Nyassi, Fordyce and Corea all come with their own impressive packages too. Ameobi stands out for his constant drive to see out games, something the Cosmos couldn’t do much of this past season. On the flip side of the coin, his age of 29 isn’t the most attractive, especially when Gentile is much younger and could put out the same numbers.

Regardless, New York has some big decisions to make in these next few months. Help them out by filling out the poll below.

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