Abu Danladi (born October 18, 1995) is a Ghanaian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a forward for

New Mexico United New Mexico United is an American professional soccer team based in Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U. ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Career

Amateur & College

Abu Danladi graduated from Ghana's Right to Dream Academy. He attended Dunn High School in

Los Olivos, California Los Olivos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "the olive trees") is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tourism is popular in this rural area ...

. He played college soccer with the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

. Danladi received the Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2013–14 while playing for Dunn School.

Professional

On January 4, 2017, Danladi signed a

Generation Adidas Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

contract with

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

. On January 13, Danladi was selected by the expansion Minnesota United with the first overall selection of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft. He scored his first career MLS goal on May 7, 2017, at home versus

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

. He was the runner-up for the 2017 MLS Rookie of the Year Award, behind Julian Gressel. On November 19, 2019, Danladi was selected by MLS expansion side

Nashville SC Nashville Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Nashville, Tennessee. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team spent two seasons in the USL Championship before joining ...

in the 2019 MLS Expansion Draft. Following the 2021 season Danladi's contract expired with Nashville and he became a free agent. Following his release from Nashville, Danladi returned to Minnesota United on 13 January 2022, signing a one-year deal. After the 2022 season, his contract option was declined by Minnesota.' Danladi signed with

club

on January 10, 2024.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1995 births Living people Ghanaian men's footballers Ghanaian expatriate men's footballers UCLA Bruins men's soccer players Ventura County Fusion players Minnesota United FC players First overall MLS draft picks Men's association football forwards Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Minnesota United FC draft picks USL League Two players Major League Soccer players Nashville SC players Forward Madison FC players USL League One players MLS Next Pro players Minnesota United FC 2 players Footballers from Sekondi-Takoradi Ghanaian expatriate sportspeople in Albania Expatriate men's footballers in Albania KF Bylis players New Mexico United players 21st-century Ghanaian sportsmen {{Ghana-footy-forward-stub