PHOTO | TROY HULL

Charlotte FC traded defender Christian Makoun to the New England Revolution for $400,000 in general allocation money and $375,000 in performance incentives. The club signe Nuno Santos, Adilson Malanda and Nathan Byrne during the MLS transfer window.

Charlotte FC is adjusting its roster during the MLS transfer window.

The Crown signed midfielder Nuno Santos and defenders Adilson Malanda and Nathan Byrne and traded defender Christian Makoun to the New England Revolution for $400,000 in general allocation money and up to $375,000 in performance incentives.

Santos’ deal runs through 2024 with an option for 2025. The move is pending the 23-year-old attacking midfielder’s receipt of a P-1 visa and ITC.

Santos, 23 and a native of Portugal, appeared in 74 games with seven goals and five assists in the Portuguese first division with Moreirense FC, Boavista FC, and FC Paços de Ferreira. His best season was with Paços de Ferreira in 2021-22, where he scored five goals and adding two assists in 31 appearances.

Santos has played for Portugal’s youth national teams, including the U-19 side that won the 2018 UEFA U-19 European Championship and totaled 44 appearances from the U-16 to U-21 squads.

“Nuno is an intelligent attacking midfielder who chose to join Charlotte FC over European interest because he believes in our project and how this league develops young talent. He has already competed at a high level on some of the biggest stages in Portugal, European competitions, and youth international football,” Charlotte sporting director Zoran Krneta said. “Nuno comes to us at a good age and will be entering his prime adding valuable attacking options to the team as we continue to strengthen our roster for 2022 and beyond.”

After spending time in the Porto and Boavista academies, Santos debuted in the professional ranks in 2017-18 as an 18-year-old with Benfica B in Portugal’s second division. He went on to make 60 league appearances with 13 goals and six assists.

Santos was sent on loan to Moreirense FC for the second half of the 2019-20 campaign and played two years on loan to Boavista FC and FC Paços de Ferreira.
Malanda, 20, comes to Charlotte from French club Rodez AF on a contract through 2025 with an option for 2026. He made his senior debut in Ligue 1 in 2020 and played 33 matches in Ligue 2.

“Adilson is an exciting, young central defender who comes to us after an excellent first full season as a professional in France. We’re delighted to sign him and strengthen the spine of our team,” Krneta said. “He’s a balanced player that fits our game model as he blends athleticism with quality and comfortability on the ball when playing out of the back. Part of our strategy in the summer window is not only bringing in competitive depth to help us as the season winds down, but to also add more building blocks that sets our squad up for success down the road.”

Byrne, a 30-year-old right back from England, is on contract through 2024 with an option for 2025. He appeared in 373 league games in the English Championship and League One, with 15 goals and 44 assists across both divisions, including the last four seasons in the Championship at Wigan Athletic and Derby County.

“Nathan is a well-rounded, versatile right back who has proven his ability in a very competitive and physical English Championship. He is a top pro who brings added veteran leadership to our dressing room,” Krneta said. “His experience will provide valuable competition in the squad as we continue to add pieces to our roster to continue to build on our competitive foundation moving forward.”

Byrne, an alumnus of Tottenham Hotspur’s academy, started 41 of 46 Championship league games in each of the last two seasons at Derby County, where he played with Charlotte FC’s Kamil Jozwiak.

He also has significant cup experience, helping then-League One side Wigan Athletic to the FA Cup Quarterfinals in consecutive upsets over Premier League sides West Ham United and Manchester City.

The deal for Makoun, who played 13 matches for Charlotte, includes $143,327 GAM in 2022 and $256,673 GAM in 2023. Inter Miami, which traded Makoun to Charlotte for the top allocation ranking position earlier in the year, gets 15% of total gross future sales from a previous trade.

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