Sporting Kansas City continues to develop a working relationship with NASL side, the San Antonio Scorpions. After loaning goalkeeper Jon Kempin to the club earlier this season, the team announced today that they're sending the team's second of three first round picks, Saad Abdul-Salaam to San Antonio as well.
Abdul-Salaam, an outside back out of Akron was the 12th pick in the 2015 MLS Superdraft. He hasn't appeared in the game day 18 in any of KC's games so far this year though as the team's third first round pick, Amadou Dia was favored at right back in the first two games of the season. Abdul-Salaam appeared in three of KC's preseason games this season, almost exclusively at right back.
He'll join Kempin and the Scorpions for the start of their NASL season this weekend against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The pair of loans now to San Antonio, while only sending one player so far, Mikey Lopez, to Oklahoma City seems a little odd considering KC's affiliation with the Energy as KC's contract required a certain number of players to go on loan to their USL affiliate. Overall, while the USL is the bigger of the two leagues, Abdul-Salaam and Kempin are likely going to be facing better top to bottom competition in the NASL with the likes of Minnesota United and the New York Cosmos both being in the league.
It could also be a situation where OKC just didn't need/want Abdul-Salaam and Jimmy Nielsen couldn't guarantee him the playing time Peter Vermes wanted. With just 25 players now in KC, space on the roster to send more players to OKC is becoming thin.
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