Trade request aside, Hassani Dotson still very much in the fold for Minnesota United

Hassani Dotson asked to be traded, but according to Loons chief soccer officer Khaled El-Ahmad, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to be in Minnesota.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s Hassani who says he doesn’t want to be there,” El-Ahmad said on Tuesday, his first media availability following the publicized trade request from Dotson’s camp. “What goes out in media, from whatever the party is, it’s for them to stand by. Internally, it’s all calm, good conversations.”

In the past, the CSO has been quick to move on from players who wanted out. The best example is Emanuel Reynoso, whom El-Ahmad sold at a loss after Reynoso’s final unexcused absence from the team.

Despite the trade request, Dotson isn’t in that category. “You would not compare [Dotson] to Reynoso at any level,” El-Ahmad said.

There was no sign of insufficient dedication from Dotson during training, either. Following several days off, the Loons started Tuesday’s training session with another round of the infamous “beep test,” giving the staff more raw data on how players’ fitness was improving throughout the preseason.

This time, Dotson finished third, behind central defender Morris Duggan and draft pick Logan Dorsey.

El-Ahmad insisted his squad wasn’t short in central midfield, naming Dotson and six other players as candidates — including new signing Hoyeon Jung and Carlos Harvey, who spent last season’s stretch run at outside center back.

El-Ahmad also hinted at another imminent signing, and the hints fit French 21-year-old defensive midfielder Owen Gene, who has been reported to be on his way to Minnesota.

“I think we’re pretty good in midfield,” El-Ahmad said.

While the league transfer window is open until mid-April, the Loons have to get their roster into compliance by Feb. 21, the day before the beginning of the season. This includes working out which players will occupy the team’s eight international roster spots, now that the signings of Jung and Argentinian center back Nicolás Romero have put them over the limit.

El-Ahmad was confident the limit would not be a problem and confirmed this would likely include a departure for fullback Ethan Bristow. He also confirmed that Minnesota is considering loaning out right wingback Matúš Kmeť, whom Minnesota signed last summer. “There’s been quite a lot of interest from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe,” he said.

The CSO compared Kmeť to Victor Eriksson. The Loons moved on from the young Swede after he was unsuccessful in Minnesota, and Eriksson then started 17 games for Hammarby, which finished second in the Swedish league and qualified for European competition.

“When it doesn’t work out, we’re proactive,” El-Ahmad said. “[Kmeť] is still a good player.”

If both players were loaned or transferred, that would give Minnesota room to add Romero, Jung, and another international player — potentially Gene — without having to acquire another international spot or make another move.

“I do anticipate another signing coming in,” El-Ahmad said. “I think then we will hold and see in a couple of weeks a little bit more what happens. There have been a lot of offers for some of our players that we said no to.”

Minnesota has three days of training at home this week before departing Friday for the Coachella Valley Invitational. The Loons will play preseason games there against Sporting KC, the LA Galaxy, and NYCFC.

Romero was absent from training on Tuesday as he worked toward getting his visa. Despite Minnesota’s occasional struggles with Argentinian players and visa appointments, manager Eric Ramsay laughed when asked if he was nervous.

“I wouldn’t have thought so, I think he’s a pretty solid one,” Ramsay said. “We’re really looking forward to getting him in the building … fingers crossed it’s sooner rather than later.”

Defenders DJ Taylor and Kipp Keller didn’t train fully with the team on Tuesday, with both dealing with recurrences of previous hamstring injuries. “They’ll be probably a couple of weeks,” Ramsay said. … Kmeť didn’t train Tuesday but was seen in the team’s facility."