Alhassan Yusuf and Matt Polster Provide Hope for 2025

"That’s what you need in our game model, and really what you need in a modern midfield, and in MLS, you need midfielders that can do a little bit of everything."

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

While the 2024 season has been disappointing for the New England Revolution there is some hope heading into 2025.

The acquisition of Alhassan Yusuf has been a massive boost to New England’s midfield. He appears to be the perfect partner alongside Matt Polster and brings a quality to the position that the Revolution was missing.

Yusuf has the ability to connect on long passes and has great vision. It is clear that he has European experience and looks like someone who could play a role in the Nigerian Men’s National Team midfield.

On top of his ability with the ball, Yusuf is a strong defender who isn’t afraid to go to ground and cause a turnover.

Polster has been impressed with his new partner in the midfield so far.

“Yusuf is great player, a great guy,” the MLS veteran said. “He works extremely hard. It’s been a short relationship so far, but I’ve really enjoyed it. He is someone on the field that I don’t need to worry about, in a way. He comes from Europe and he really understands the game. It’s been a really fun partnership so far. He has obviously got a massive engine. He runs more than anyone else on the field, but he’s also got a great passing range. Again, he’s a great guy in the locker room.”

Having a quality midfielder appears important to Porter’s game. Darlington Nagbe played a crucial role in the current New England head coach’s two MLS Cups.

While Porter mentioned that it is important for every player to perform well, he did mention that having quality midfielders is important to his game model and is needed in MLS.

“I like the combination of Matt [Polster] and [Alhassan] Yusuf, even in a really short amount of time that they’ve had playing together,” Porter said. “They’ve done really well together, in my opinion, on both sides of the ball. Both are rangy. Both are able to keep the ball. Both are able to win duels. Both cover a ton of ground. That’s what you need in our game model, and really what you need in a modern midfield, and in MLS, you need midfielders that can do a little bit of everything. So, I see both those guys just getting better and better and better together as they continue to have time to gel.”