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Alhassan Yusuf: Major League Soccer side unveils Nigeria midfielder
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
The New England Revolution has acquired Nigerian central midfielder Alhasan Yusuf from Belgian club Royal Antwerp FC for an undisclosed fee.
The Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit signed the 24-year-old using the season-ending injury replacement mechanism.
Yusuf will occupy an international roster spot and is signed through the 2027 Major League Soccer season, with a club option for 2028.
The Super Eagles player will join the Revolution pending receipt of his P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).
The 24-year-old joins the Revolution after three years in the Belgian topflight with Royal Antwerp, where he won three trophies including the 2022/2023 Belgian Pro League championship and 2022/2023 Belgian Cup, and was named the club’s Player of the Month in August 2022.
In the 2023/2024 UEFA Champions League, Yusuf played in all six games for Antwerp, registering a goal in his first start against FC Porto and adding an assist against FC Barcelona later in the group stage.
He has earned seven additional appearances in UEFA Europa League qualifying and tournament action.
Yusuf finished his Antwerp career with 90 league appearances in the Jupiler Pro League and Jupiler Pro League Champions’ Playoffs.
The Kano-born Nigeria native began his club career in Sweden with IFK Göteborg from 2018 to 2021. Göteborg signed Yusuf to a professional contract as a teenager and he went on to amass 77 appearances for the Swedish first-division club in all competitions, registering nine assists and two goals.
In his first full season, Yusuf was named the 2019 Allsvenskan Newcomer of the Year after recording 26 league appearances.
The following season, he exceeded that mark with 29 games played. With Göteborg, Yusuf won the 2019/2020 Svenska Cupen, Sweden’s premier domestic cup competition.
Yusuf has won seven caps from the Nigeria national team, all coming this year after his debut in January 2024 in a friendly against Guinea.
He went on to play three games, starting once, in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cote d’Ivoire earlier this year, including a substitute appearance in the final as Nigeria finished as runners-up.
Most recently, Yusuf appeared twice in FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa and Benin Republic.
