Hartford Athletic in Advanced Talks to Sell Mamadou Dieng to Minnesota United

The move comes after months of speculation that clubs from MLS and elsewhere were interested in Dieng.

Photo By Alex Roldan

Hartford Athletic are in advanced talks to sell record-setting forward Mamadou Dieng to Minnesota United of MLS. The story was first reported by Tom Bogert. Manager Brendan Burke has been hinting for weeks — if not months — that Dieng’s departure is imminent, and with the closure of the MLS transfer window, official confirmation of the Senegalese striker’s departure is likely to come soon.

The expected terms of the deal were not revealed, but it’s believed that the initial transfer fee will exceed $300,000, and that Minnesota has also agreed to a significant sell-on clause, sources told The Blazing Musket. In the event that the Loons sell Dieng to another club at a later date, Hartford would receive a portion of those proceeds, which could amount to millions of dollars.

The initial fee is more than an order of magnitude larger than any fee that Hartford has previously received for a player, and the addition of a potentially lucrative sell-on clause makes this a good return for a player who has more than demonstrated that he is ready for the next level.

Dieng arrived in Hartford ahead of the 2023 season as a virtual unknown, but created some small buzz with strong appearances in preseason and a tantalizing performance in an early-season game against Birmingham Legion. While he failed to score in that game despite several gilt-edged opportunities, he demonstrated an aptitude for every other aspect of his position that was well beyond his years.

It took a few months for him to force his way into the starting lineup, but once he found his footing, he was among the best strikers in the league. After netting his first professional goal on July 12, he went on to score ten more over the remaining 17 games, not only setting a single-season scoring record for Hartford in the process, but being statistically one of the best forwards in the entire Championship over that stretch.

That electric second half of the season led to interest from around the world, with Burke saying at the time that “teams from Europe, Mexico and MLS [were] following us around for the last two months of the season,” and there was speculation at the time that Dieng could move on before the 2025 season got underway.

A move did not come to pass at that time, and in the first months of the current season, Dieng seemed to be struggling. Heading into the last week of May, he had only two goals in 11 games — one of those coming against amateur side New York Shockers in the U.S. Open Cup — and his ability to convert chances seemed back where it was in early 2024. Since then, he has heated up, with 10 goals in 15 games, including six in his last four. Those electric performances in recent weeks led to two Team of the Week appearances, as well as a Player of the Week performance in week 22.

The 12 goals he has scored this season bettered his own single-season club record, and he also passed Danny Barrera to become Hartford’s all-time leading scorer, with 23 goals in all competitions. He’s also the only player in club history to reach double-digit goals in two different seasons, and undoubtedly leaves Hartford as the best forward the team has ever had.

It remains to be seen if Hartford will make a corresponding move to supplement their attacking corps given the loss of Dieng. In the offseason, Burke suggested that there might be veteran reinforcements in the event of his departure, but at this juncture, a loan from an MLS club might be a more realistic option. Other players on the roster such as Kyle Edwards, Adewale Obalola, and Deshane Beckford, for example, may need to shoulder more of the load as well.

Hartford Athletic returns to action on Saturday night as they welcome Rhode Island FC in yet another installment of El Clamico at Trinity Health Stadium.