Rhode Island FC Announce the Signing of Yutaro Tsukada on Loan from Orlando City SC

Today, Rhode Island FC announced the signing of Yutaro Tsukada on loan from Orlando City SC. The second attacking signing in as many weeks after the signing of Osman Foyo, The Tide continue their mid-season roster shakeup.

Who is Yutaro Tsukada?

Hailing from Tokyo, Japan, Yutaro Tsukada started his collegiate career lighting it up at Daytona State - tallying 37 goals and assists in 24 games. After the strong showing in NJCAA, Tsukada joined the Division I West Viginia Mountaineers for his junior and senior seasons, playing alongside former RIFC keeper Jackson Lee. In his senior season he was all over the score sheet, ending the season in the top 20 in the nation in both goals and assists, leading to multiple All-America team nominations. It's not surprising to see that he was selected 25th overall in the MLS Super Draft by Orlando City SC, three spots above his teammate Jackson Lee.

How's MLS going?

After the excitement of the Super Draft, Tsukada has mainly spent his time with the Orlando City B team in MLS Next Pro - notching just seven appearances in MLS, including just 22 minutes in two appearances this season.

He started off his MLS Next Pro career strong, netting seven goals and notching eight assists in 23 matches. During that season he showed a flair for beating his defender on the dribble (2.69/90 - 92nd percentile) and creating big chances for his teammates (0.47/90 - 81st percentile). Unfortunately for Tsukada, he tore his ACL in a preseason friendly ahead of the 2025 season that caused him to miss the entirety of the year in recovery.

Looking to pick up where he left off, the forward has started to accumulate minutes in MLS Next Pro showcasing his dribbling (2.70/90 - 93rd percentile) and chance creation (2.25/90 - 96th percentile) chops while being more aggressive in front of goal (3.15 shots/90 and 2.25 shots on target/90 - 82nd and 96th percentile, respectively).

All data here from FotMob

What does this mean for RIFC?

Similar to Logan Dorsey, this seems to be a classic - too good for MLS Next Pro/not good enough for MLS situation. It goes without saying that the ACL injury last season clearly didn't help with this.

The Tide's offense has significantly improved this year on all accounts ranking third in goals for per game and sixth in expected goals for per game (American Soccer Analytics). However, most of the production has come from JJ Williams at striker and Jojea Kwizera at right wing notching seven and five goals, respectively, in the league.

Our left wing has been a rotating cast, seeing newcomers Pity Rodriguez and Leo Afonso alongside 2024 Golden Playmaker Noah Fuson all struggle to nail down the starting spot there. In total, those three have contributed just three goals (all Leo Afonso) and five assists. Adding a LW specialist to the mix who can create and score from that side is a huge bonus if he can click. And if he shows a real threat, it should draw extra defenders away from Williams and Kwizera to free them up to further punish opposing defenses.

But Ryan, another attacker?

Fair point! With the departure of Clay Holstad and long term injury to Zachary Herivaux, the squad is looking a bit heavy in attack when compared to midfield. At the moment, we're relying on the health of Amos Shapiro-Thompson and Hugo Bacharch who have both recently signed long term contracts. I'd watch this space for further movement in the midfield area. Khano may also have other ideas like trying Pity deeper. We'll see!

Overall, this a loan which reduces the stakes. But if Tsukada can showcase the talent that made him a first round pick in the Super Draft, similar to Hamady Diop, RIFC could be adding another layer to an already blossoming attack.

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