Left-footed attacker appears set for defensive role in Gerhard Struber’s formation
The transfer window officially ended last week, but the New York Red Bulls are still adding pieces where they can.
A source close to the team confirmed to OaM that Tyler Pasher, a Canadian wide man recently released by Houston Dynamo, will be signing with the team in the coming days. The confirmation came on the heels of a bulletin from ReportingMLS earlier this afternoon that New York was in talks with the well-traveled 28-year-old. A later report from Chris Smith of 90min indicated that New York beat out a rival bid from Seattle Sounders to sign Pasher.
The left-footed Pasher has played a variety of tactical roles in his winding career, and team sources have indicated to OaM that Pasher is being eyed as depth on the left side of the field, where John Tolkin has started and finished nearly every match of 2022 for New York. The prolific dribbler Pasher could become a left-footed counterpart to Cameron Harper, who has bolstered the Red Bulls formation in both right wingback and more conventional wing attack roles.
The son of a soccer coach raised in the small Ontario town of Elmira, Pasher spent part of his youth training with storied English club Newcastle United. After a stint with the Toronto FC academy, Pasher began his professional career with a prolific teenage season at Finnish outfit Kemi City. Pasher would return to North America and stake out a productive career in the lower divisions, featuring for Pittsburgh Riverhounds, Swope Park Rangers and Indy Eleven before finally getting his top flight chance last season with Houston.
Pasher scored six goals and registered three assists in a season and a half with the Dynamo, enough to earn two senior caps with the powerhouse new-look Canadian national team setup. But in a Houston side slowly rebuilding under first year manager Paulo Nagamura after years of struggle, Pasher was deemed expendable last week as the club maneuvered their roster through the transfer deadline.
Pasher will join a New York team that focused its summer transfer activity on shoring up the wide areas, with fullback Kyle Duncan returning on loan from KV Oostende and winger Elias Manoel joining from Gremio on a loan-to-buy deal. At 28, Pasher becomes one of the squad’s older players, though his top flight experience goes back only 18 months.
At the very least, Pasher helps relieve a lack of bodies in the squad after the releases of Jason Pendant, Lucas Monzon, and Ashley Fletcher during the window. At best, Pasher could prove to be a canny addition to Gerhard Struber’s deck of cards in the season’s final weeks.