Minnesota United is pursuing the addition of French center back Bakaye Dibassy, a source confirmed to the Pioneer Press on Sunday.
Dibassy, 30, has played for Amiens in France’s Ligue 1 since 2016 and the Paris-born player has four appearances the Mali national team.
Fellow MLS club D.C. United was interested in Dibassy in February, according to the Washington Post. Amiens was “apparently hesitant” to move Dibassy because they were in a relegation battle, but Ligue 1 season has since been canceled due to the coronavirus.
Minnesota had Dibassy’s discovery rights, the Post reported, and D.C. was prepared to trade with Minnesota for the rights to acquire him but that cooled when pandemic hit.
Dibassy, who can also play left fullback, played 22 games before this season ended.
The Loons have had success in bringing in defenders from France. The Loons lone MLS All-Star in 2019 was French-Malagasy fullback Romain Metainire. He arrived in Minnesota before last season and signed a multi-year contract extension last week.
