Aaron Boupendza: Should FC Cincinnati Keep or Sell Their Striker?
Luke “The Intern” Schnur
Aaron Boupendza is currently The FC's DP striker. Currently.
Boupendza is an interesting character in the story of this club. He has dealt with being suspended by his national team and by FC Cincinnati virtually back to-back for similar reasons. This offseason created more problems for Boupendza as he was the subject of a blackmailing attempt and, erm, personal files, were released on social media sites.
Then about a month ago Boupendza had his jaw broken in a late night incident, one in which he has been characterized as the victim, leaving him out with no confirmed recovery date. This came after an already slow start to the season. All available reporting, including just recently by Tom Bogert on Extratime Radio, points to Boupendza leaving this summer transfer window. But what if the team didn't sell him?
The Case for Keeping Boupendza
Keeping Boupendza will inevitably lead to an interesting season on and probably off the field. If The FC keeps their current formation Boupendza will be playing up top with what feels like the locked-in starter Kevin Kelsy.
Surprisingly, Boupendza has never played with Kelsy! The two of them could very well be perfectly suited to compliment each other. And you could probably bet on that outcome because Albright had intended for that to be the case, and Albright rarely misses.
What has held Boupendza back from being successful has not his talent. Watching him play, it is easy to see that he has a cannon of a left foot and can place the ball wherever he chooses. His problem is that he rarely seems to be on the same page as his teammates. And it is this lack of cohesion that led to him being dropped from the starting lineup right before his jaw’s late night visit to the hospital.
When Boupendza eventually finds open space and is on the ball, he feels automatic. It really is too bad that happened maybe once or twice so far, the front-line being out of sync is very much the reason behind. Although his stats haven’t always looked pretty (his xG numbers do look pretty), with the right conditions he has the potential to be a golden boot level player. Maybe Kelsy and a new look on life are those conditions.
The Case for Selling Boupendza
While the idea of Boupendza working out and playing up to his potential sounds fantastic, it's just that, an idea. I believe, and all indications suggest, that Albright will be moving on. I am certain Albright would only consider moving on if they could get a team to pick up his contract on a transfer.
Buying out Boupendza out would likely be a tough sell to ownership after already spending big on his transfer fee and having a multimillion-dollar salary. There have been very unsbstatiated rumors of Boupendza heading to Galatasaray in Turkey, but not much beyond idle speculation.
Boupendza heading back to Turkey actually makes a lot of sense. He previously won the Golden Boot title there in 2020/21, so it would make sense as to why a Turkish club would be interested.
In some respects, Aaron Boupendza seems to be Albright's first miss on a player. Though it would be tough to argue that they win the Supporter Shield without him in 2023.
In the end, FC Cincinnati's ownership group has shown their ambition to win trophies. If they move on from Boupendza, I would expect that FCC already has their eye on the replacement they want. And I'd expect that replacement to be a huge signing in MLS.
FC Cincinnati could be in a tough position with regards to Boupendza, if their ownership group didn't have a track record of being willing to spend. And for what it is worth, given Boupendza's undeniable talent, it's not impossible to think that there is a way to make him work on this team and unlock his full potential.
However, it certainly looks like the team has made their decision to move on. Assuming they can find a buyer. Hanging in the balance is multiple trophies. No pressure.