Detroit City FC is continuing to fill out its roster ahead of the 2024 USL Championship season with a couple of new signings potentially lined up this week as well as a player departure.
According to Nolan Bianchi of the Detroit News, the team is set to bring on midfielder James Murphy and veteran right-back Matthew Sheldon. Additionally, Skage Simonsen is set to depart the club for Hartford in what Bianchi notes as a “corresponding move”.
Murphy, a 26-year-old defensive midfielder who stands at 5-foot-11, started in 23 out of 26 matches for Monterey Bay last season, but failed to score a goal and only provided three assists. In 2022, he played for the then-expansion Monterey Bay team in the USL Championship, where he scored one goal and contributed five assists.
Meanwhile, 31-year-old Matthew Sheldon comes to City after spending one season in Hartford where the YouTube star had one goal and one assist over 1,857 total minutes played. Sheldon’s most successful senior season came in 2021 with FC Tulsa when he had two goals and three assists.
Finally, Detroit City has decided to part ways with Skage Simsonsen, who could be seen as nothing but a huge disappointment for the team after their relatively successful 2022 campaign. Despite scoring three goals and providing a single assist, Skage eventually lost his spot in the starting eleven and was a non-factor for most of the second half of the season. He seemingly took a free fall in the depth chart behind Ben Morris, Yazeed Matthews, Dario Suarez, and even 19-year-old Aaron Bibout who the Club got on loan from the LA Galaxy II late in the season. The last time Skage even saw time on the bench was on September 9 when City beat the Miami FC 2-1 from Keyworth. His last minutes came the match prior on September 2 against Memphis when he was a 79′ minute sub while his last start came on August 19 against Las Vegas where he netted the game’s only goal.
