Former Portland winger Kalif Alhassan has signed for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Alhassan has signed on a one-year contract with a club option for 2017, the Florida club announced Thursday. Although he seems to have been a much discussed figure on the Portland scene for a long time, he is still just 25.

He spent the 2015 North American Soccer League season with Minnesota United FC after playing five seasons with the Portland Timbers. He tallied four goals and six assists in his debut NASL campaign.

“Kalif brings quite a lot to our team,” Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Stuart Campbell said in a press release. “When he left Portland, I scouted him at great length and I really liked what I saw. The season he had last year in Minnesota only enhanced my opinion of him. He’s comfortable playing on both wings, but he can play centrally as well, so he’s very versatile.”

Originally from Accra, Ghana, Alhassan initially joined the Timbers in 2010 in the USSF Division II Pro League, but never played against the Tampa Bay Rowdies in their inaugural season. When Portland moved to MLS in time for 2011, it brought Alhassan into their squad but he never quite broke into the MLS squad despite a handful of impressive performances and great loyalty from his USL head coach Gavin Wilkinson, who became General Manager.

He will not be the only ex-Timber in St Petersburg. Keith Savage is already there.

Alhassan adds another dimension to the Tampa Bay Rowdies 2016 squad that also includes previously announced players Freddy Adu and Tommy Heinemann.

“I’m very happy to be joining the Tampa Bay Rowdies,” Alhassan said. “I’ve only heard good things about the club from people I know who’ve played here, so it was an easy decision for me to join the team. I’m really excited to get to work and I think 2016 is going to be a great season for us. We were able to get Tommy, one of the best forwards in the league, and there are already great players on the team from last year, so I’m very excited to get started.”

CUP BOUND & CROWNED

Prost Amerika’s book Cup Bound & Crowned is now on presale at this link.

The symbolic presale price of $19.75 is to honor the first year of the Timbers and the players who first donned the shirt.

With a foreword by Timber Jim Serrill, it will contain articles by Prost’s Portland Timbers beat writers as well as ex-BBC global soccer journalist Richard Fleming. And there’s a wedding plus the inside story of the Log Saga.

Cup Bound & Crowned – Book honoring Timbers 2015 MLS Cup now on presale at $19.75