DETROIT – Detroit City FC announced on Tuesday the club had acquired midfielder Laurent Kissiedou on loan from FK Pardubice of the Czech First League for the remainder of the 2024 USL Championship season. Kissiedou will be available for selection when Detroit faces the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Wednesday night.

A native of Divo, Ivory Coast, Kissiedou has made 133 regular season appearances in the USL Championship, recording 20 goals and 16 assists across 9,129 minutes of action prior to his move to Europe last offseason.

The 25-year-old most recently competed in the Championship for Memphis 901 FC where he logged 16 goals and 13 assists across 86 appearances to help lead the side to three consecutive appearances in the USL Championship Playoffs. After joining FK Pardubice last February, Kissiedou made 14 appearances for the club as it secured its position in the top flight for a fifth consecutive season.

Analysis

Laurent Kissiedou offers a major reinforcement for Detroit City FC’s midfield corps with the creativity to both create and score goals as Le Rouge look to make a push to the postseason with 11 games to go in the campaign.

Kissiedou logged five goals and three assists while notching 17 shots on target and 26 chances created in 28 appearances for Memphis during the 2023 season. He also had positive moments defensively, making 15 interceptions and 108 recoveries and a tackle success rate of 72 percent on 18 won tackles, but his ability to develop chemistry quickly with Detroit’s other attacking options will be key for a side that sits in the lower half of the league in goals-per-game currently this season.