Sunny

A skilled, athletic midfielder, “Sunny” brings a bit of a different look to RSL. He primarily plays in a box-to-box role, but he’s able to slot in as a defensive mid, too. He should see plenty of minutes in RSL’s three-man midfield, and will likely allow Claret-and-Cobalt captain Kyle Beckerman a little bit more freedom to roam forward from his holding midfield spot than he’s had in the past.

Acquired
Signed on January 21, 2016.

International
Born in Nigeria, Sunny represented Spain at the youth level, appearing with the country’s U-19, U-20 and U-21 national teams. He eventually switched allegiances back to Nigeria, earning his lone career senior national team cap in 2010.

Professional
Spent time with eight different teams in 11 seasons before joining RSL. He originally signed with Polideportivo Ejido in the Spanish second division in 2005, playing two seasons there before moving to Valencia in 2007. He made only 10 appearances for Valencia, spending most of his four years with the club on loan to Osasuna, Betis and Numancia, where he eventually moved permanently in 2011. Made a total of 76 appearances in Spain’s second division before leaving Numancia in 2013, playing for Bnei Sakhnin in Israel, CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria and Alanyaspor in Turkey before coming to RSL. 

2016: In his first year as an RSL player “Sunny” appeared in 15 games all of which were in a starting role. He missed a chunk of the season after suffering facial fractures in a collision in a June match against the New York Red Bulls.  Playing 1,115 minutes Stephen scored a single goal, heading home a Joao Plata corner kick in RSL’s home opener on March 12. Along with that goal he added a single assist in 2016.