What to know about Gedion Zelalem, United's new midfielder

Gedion Zelalem’s been-there, done-that list is already quite extensive thanks to soccer.

At 28, he’s represented two countries (Germany and the United States) at the international youth level, played professionally in five countries and skipped across the Atlantic Ocean seemingly countless times.

Next stop: Albuquerque.

New Mexico United has signed Zelalem for the 2025 season, the club announced Wednesday. A former top prospect with Arsenal in the English Premier League, Zelalem has competed at the sport’s highest levels and will look to jump-start his latest United States tenure with the USL Championship club.

“We are very excited to welcome a player of Gedion’s caliber and pedigree to New Mexico,” United Sporting Director Itamar Keinan said in club release. “Gedion has played for some of world’s biggest clubs, refining his skillset and becoming a terrific player. We can’t wait to see what he does in Black & Yellow.”

Zelalem joined United for two of its three preseason matches last week in Tucson, where the club went 1-0-2 in its first competitions under first-year coach Dennis Sanchez. Zelalem’s career was previously slowed by a pair of knee injuries, but he is fully recovered to begin his run with NMU.

Zelalem spent the last two seasons in Europe, playing for top-level Croatian club NK Lokomotiva and second-tiered FC Den Bosch in the Netherlands. Prior to that, the native of Berlin, Germany, spent four seasons competing in MLS with Sporting Kansas City and New York City FC.

Zelalem’s first professional experiences came in Europe, where he came up in Arsenal’s system and ultimately played on loan agreements with Scottish Rangers FC and VVV-Venlo in the Netherlands.

Zelalem, who has dual citizenship, represented both Germany and the United States at the youth national team level. He competed at the U-18 and U-23 levels for the United States, competing for the U-23s in 2016 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying.