Logan Ndenbe emerged as a vital component for Sporting KC throughout their postseason success. However, an ACL injury suffered in Sporting’s 2-1 victory over St. Louis City SC will keep him out for practically the whole 2024 MLS season. So, Sporting KC moved fast to provide depth to Ndenbe’s position, announcing the club’s first offseason acquisition: Zorhan Bassong. Bassong, 24, is a left back with MLS experience who joins Sporting Kansas City. While he is currently a free agent, he was under contract with CF Montreal in 2021 and 2022, playing approximately 1,500 minutes in MLS regular-season action and recording one assist in 2021.
He is a free transfer for Sporting and will occupy an international slot on the team’s supplemental roster, pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate. His contract is valid for the 2024 season, with options in 2025 and 2026. Bassong was born in Toronto and grew up in Montreal before heading overseas in 2013 to join the Royal Mouscron academy in Belgium. It is the same academy a young Ndenbe spent time at. Bassong also played at the youth level for Anderlecht in Belgium and Lille LOSC in France. His first true professional stint was with Cercle Brugge in Belgium before joining Montreal in 2021. In 2023, he had two short stints with Romanian teams, Arges Pitesti and Farul Constanta, before spending much of the latter half of the calendar year out of contract.
ANALYSIS ON THE SPORTING KC ROSTER
sports KC manager and sports director Peter Vermes stated this offseason that a left back addition was in the works, and it’s no surprise that this one arrives on the back end of the roster. Bassong’s salary cap hit will be small because he is on the supplemental roster.
Ndenbe ideally could return by June, and Tim Leibold is a more-than-capable fill-in option. Until Ndenbe returns, Sporting needs insurance behind Leibold, who has certainly had his run-in with injuries over his last two full seasons as a pro. Leibold came to the club last winter while recovering from a knee injury and had a nagging groin injury that kept him unavailable for most of the second half of the season. The minimal cap commitment also keeps most of Sporting KC’s bigger spending options open. The Athletic’s Tom Bogert reported on the latest edition of Sports Radio 810’s Sporting KC show that, based on conversations he’s had, it seems unlikely that Gadi Kinda will return to Sporting in 2024. If that’s the case, one could anticipate a higher-profile acquisition coming into the midfield and attack.
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