Former New England Revolution defender Amaechi Igwe has signed a contract with newly-promoted Bundesliga 2 side FC Ingolstadt, according to reports out of Germany. The 22-year old is making the move on a free transfer.

Igwe has been in Europe since February trying to catch on with a new club. He previously completed trials at Nuremberg and Greuther Fuerth.

The left-back played for the U.S. in the 2007 U-20 World Championships.

Gkionis also hit the post twice and now has five goals since joining Excelsior Veldwezelt this past January.

His first goal was a chip over the keeper with his left foot. The second was a finish on the back post from a nice cross from a teammate.

Said Gkionis “I am very happy with the match today… its is a good tally for the short time I have been here”

Excelsior Veldwezelt currently sits in next to last place and appears certain to be moving down a division in spite of Gkionis’s efforts.

Former New England Revolution SuperDraft pick Amaechi Igwe is reportedly on trial at 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fuerth. German Web site transfermarkt.de said the 21-year old defender had joined Fuerth after an unsuccessful trial with Danish club Aalborg, the same club that employs U.S. players Chris Rolfe and Marcus Tracy. The German site did not provide a source of the news.

Igwe is a native of Belmont, Calif., and has represented the U.S. youth national teams at both the U17 and U20 levels. He was on the roster for the 2007 U20 World Cup team where he played in just one game. He was waived by the Revs in February after playing sparingly in his rookie season.

“I have been in good form as of late and have been producing goals from the midfield consistently,” said Gkionis. “I hope to be able to continue to gain as many points as possible for the team.”

The team could surely use the help. Excelsior Veldwezelt currently sits in a last place though with results like this against ninth place Diegem it certainly appears they have the capacity to move up the table.

Little is known about Quintanar, who previously played for Mexico’s Veracruz. SoccerWay.com lists him as a forward of undetermined age; the German report says he is 24. He appears to have played four years with Clemson University where he tallied six goals and nine assists. He signed with Necaxa of the Mexican first division in 2007.

According to an awkwardly-worded translation (via Google Translate) of an item on Brabrand’s Web site, Quintanar was signed in early January.

Any Danish linguists in the house? Or does anybody have any other information on the player?

Yao was born to an Ivorian father, who played football professionally in France, and an Italian mother. He was given a scholarship by the United Sports Foundation as an 11-year-old and reportedly had training spells with both Manchester United and Arsenal before joining French side Metz’s youth academy, where he spent three seasons. A year in Italy playing in reserves sides at Livorno and Pisa was followed by a short spell in Scotland with St Mirren’s youth set-up before he returned to the U.S., where he had several unofficial trials with the New York Red Bulls last season.

He has yet to play an official match for Ipswich, who are fourth from the bottom in the Championship.

Valentino who was selected in the first round of the 2008 MLS SuperDraft by the New England Revolution. He made his Revs debut in a 2008 U.S. Open Cup third round match against the Richmond Kickers of the USL second division (it didn’t go particularly well as the Revs lost 3-0). He was traded to Colorado Rapids in exchange for Nico Colaluca last May. Rapids technical director Paul Bravo had great things to say about Valentino at the time of the trade. But he has yet to play a minute in MLS.

What do you think about this development in Valentino’s career? Post your thoughts and make them count in ASN’s commenter contest.

Where there’s smoke, there’s (sometimes) fire. 1860 Munich have agreed to loan Kenny Cooper to Plymouth Argyle, the German club announced Jan. 28. The move follows speculation in German and English press by mere hours.

The loan deal lasts through June 30, the end of Plymouth’s season. Paul Mariner’s club is caught in a struggle for relegation. With just 24 points from 25 games Argyle is 22nd in the 24-team Championship, three points from 21st place that would allow it to avoid relegation.