Minnesota United’s third addition in the primary transfer window became official Tuesday: The Loons signed midfielder Owen Gene to a three-year contract through 2027, with a club option for 2028.

The Loons are paying a transfer fee between $1.5 and $2 million for Gene, a source told the Pioneer Press. With Argentine center back Nicolás Romero and South Korean midfielder Hoyeon Jung, MNUFC has spent roughly $5 million in combined fees this winter.

Loons Chief Soccer Officer Khaled El-Ahmad said last week three players would be added in this stage of the primary transfer window — which remains open until late April — and all three additions are now completed.

Head coach Eric Ramsay said he was impressed with the body of work Gene put together at Amiens in Ligue 2. The 21-year-old has played over 6,000 minutes across 102 games for the club since 2021.

“He’s young but he has played a lot of games already … in the second tier in France,” Ramsay said. “I think that is pretty impressive because the level is good there, for sure, and it’s a good stepping stone for players. I think for him to have been a very important part of a team that is pretty competitive in that league for so long is a really good start to his career.”

As far as Gene’s attributes, Ramsay said: “We obviously wanted to add depth to the midfield and he’s someone who is very good defensively. He’s fairly athletic, I would say, very front foot and he’s pretty clean on the ball.”

Gene is listed at 6-foot-1 and has played for French national youth teams. He will occupy an Under-22 Initiative slot and an international roster spot. After arriving in Minnesota for medical exams last week, he will be eligible to play for the Loons once he receives his work visa, which will need to a trip to Canada.

Difference makers?

The Loons front-office leaders have been cautious in how much Gene, Romero and Jung, who is the oldest at 24, can add to the team at the start of the 2025 season. The 21-year-old Romero is also on a U22 deal.

Ramsay said Gene will have an “adaptation period” as the Frenchman plays club football outside of his native country for the first time.

“I think over time hopefully he will become an important player,” Ramsay said. “ I don’t think we are going to put huge pressure on him to contribute from Day 1. We haven’t got loads of options and we don’t have huge depth, but we have options in the middle, so I don’t think the expectation will be that he will come in and completely change the look of the team, but he’s definitely got some raw ingredients and hopefully a pretty high ceiling.”

It appears MNUFC will stick with its starting midfield pair of Wil Trapp and Hassani Dotson to begin the season on Feb. 22 at LAFC.

Leagues Cup opponents

MNUFC will play three Mexican clubs in Leagues Cup later this summer.

In Phase One, Loons host Queretaro at Allianz Field on July 30; they will travel to Houston to play Club America on Aug. 2; and return to host Atletico de San Luis in St. Paul on Aug. 6.

Club America, a premier club based in Mexico City, will host that match in Texas based on its “Leagues Cup rankings” and for its status as the Liga MX champions. That level of opponent set in the mid-summer heat constitutes the toughest match in the trio for Minnesota.

The top four teams from each league — MLS and Liga MX — advance to the tournament’s quarterfinal knockout stage on Aug. 19-20.

Minnesota was bounced out of the tournament’s group stage last summer but reached the quarterfinals in 2022.