COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC announced on Friday the club had acquired Forward Ronaldo Damus on loan from GIF Sundsvall for the 2024 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Damus spent the past season on loan with San Diego Loyal SC in the USL Championship, where he led the side with 15 goals in 1,964 minutes. Previously a player for Orange County SC in the Championship, the 24-year-old has recorded 33 goals and five assists in 63 appearances across the regular season and playoffs with a strike rate of a goal every 143.3 minutes.

“Ronaldo has established himself as one of the best strikers in the USL,” said Switchbacks Technical Director & Assistant Coach, James Chambers. “At only 24, he has a lot of experience in his career to date with a proven track record of scoring goals consistently.

“His strong mentality and desire to continue developing are two qualities that are valued within our organization. The passion and energy he shows for the game will only complement the core group of players we already have in the building. We are delighted to welcome him to the club for the 2024 season.”

Damus’ career in the United States began with North Texas SC in USL League One in the 2019 season. He won the Golden Boot with 16 goals, was voted to the All-League First Team and helped lead NTSC to both the League One Players’ Shield and victory in the USL League One Final.

In 2021 he moved up to the Championship with Orange County SC, where he recorded 18 goals across the regular season and playoffs, including two in the 2021 USL Championship Final against the Tampa Bay Rowdies to claim MVP honors. That offseason he was transferred to then-top flight Swedish club GIF Sundsvall, where he recorded five goals and two assists in the Allsvenskan’s 2022 campaign.

Analysis

Ronaldo Damus’ arrival on loan with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC provides a ready-made replacement for the departed Romario Williams, and could even serve as an upgrade that brings the club’s attack back to the levels it found with Hadji Barry leading the line in the 2021 season.

Damus has proven one of the most clinical finishers in the Championship during his time in the league. Of players that have recorded at least 30 goals since the start of the 2021 season, he ranks third in strike rate at 143.3 minutes/goal, with only Cameron Lancaster and Barry ahead of him. Those numbers have come with a shooting accuracy rate of 56 percent and conversion rate of 24.6 percent, but also on an Expected Goals mark of 28.9xG.

With the combination of the chance creation the Switchbacks have become renowned for and the means by which Damus consistently gets himself into good positions, this should be one of the major moves of the offseason.