St. Louis City SC acquired midfielder Aziel Jackson from Minnesota United FC in exchange for 150K in General Allocation Money, the club announced today. Jackson is coming off a strong 2022 MLS NEXT Pro season where he earned Best XI honors.
“Aziel is a promising young talent that we are happy to add to our team,” said Sporting Director Lutz Pfannenstiel. “At just 21 years old, he is still developing but is showing promising progression already following this past season at the MLS NEXT Pro level. We saw first hand how that league is developing good, young talent and for Aziel to be named to the Best XI acknowledges what his potential can be.”
Jackson’s season for MNUFC2 stood out among the best of the league, particularly in key passes / chances created. The Loons midfielder was the top player in that category with 70 scoring chances created, impacting each game by setting up multiple scoring opportunities. He notably led MLS NEXT Pro in that statistic from July 31 to the final week of the regular season. On the club level, Jackson led MNUFC2 in games played (23 GP, 21 GS), goals scored (10) and assists provided (seven). The midfielder additionally finished tied for third in MLS NEXT Pro regular-season action with his seven assists. Among his key contributions on the field, Jackson scored MLS NEXT Pro’s 800th-ever goal during MNUFC2’s match at Timbers2 on September 11.
The 21-year-old joined MNUFC as Homegrown Player when Minnesota traded for his homegrown rights from New York Red Bulls in April 2021. The midfielder is a product of the New York Red Bull Academy, where he joined in 2014 at age 13. At age 16, he moved to France with his family and played with Toulouse FC for two seasons, he was the first American signed by the team. He played with amateur team Crossfire FC when he returned to the U.S. from 2019-2020 and trained with Seattle Sounders in 2020. Jackson spent the 2021 season on loan to North Carolina FC before playing with MNUFC2 on a season-long loan in 2022.
TRANSACTION: St. Louis City SC acquired midfielder Aziel Jackson from Minnesota United FC in exchange for 150K in General Allocation Money on November 6, 2022.
AZIEL JACKSON
Position: Midfield
DOB: October 25, 2001 (21)
Birthplace: New York, New York
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 154 lbs
Nationality: USA
Last Club: MNUFC
2023 St. Louis CITY SC ROSTER (10) Goalkeeper (1) – Roman Bürki
Defenders (4) - Center back: Kyle Hiebert, Joakim Nilsson, Josh Yaro; Wing back: Selmir Pidro
Midfielders (4)- Winger: Isak Jensen, Tomáš Ostrák, Aziel Jackson,; Central Mid: Eduard Löwen
Forward (1) – João Klauss
Designated Players (2) – Eduard Löwen, João Klauss
