#14
Forward
Siad Haji
Club
Portland Timbers
League
MLS
Region
USA
Signed
2017
Estimated peak value · 2019
$168,000 / KSh 17m
Estimated, not a transfer fee — a €150,000 valuation around the season he went second overall in the MLS SuperDraft to San Jose, at $1.12 to the euro and KSh 101.
Profile
From a refugee camp to New Hampshire
A winger born in a Kenyan refugee camp who arrived in the United States in 2004 and started his college football in NCAA Division III at New England College, the bottom of the American pyramid.
Virginia Commonwealth
A transfer to VCU brought five goals, ten assists and the Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year award in 2018.
San Jose Earthquakes
The Earthquakes took him second overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation Adidas signing. He debuted professionally on loan at Reno 1868 and has 82 senior appearances and seven goals.
Cup and continental record
NCAA tournament football with Virginia Commonwealth, then US Open Cup and USL Championship play-off football with the San Jose Earthquakes and Reno 1868 after going second overall in the 2019 draft.
Managers he played under
Matías Almeyda, the Argentina and Lazio midfielder, was head coach at the San Jose Earthquakes when they took him second overall in 2019 and gave him his MLS football.
Did you know
Born in a Kenyan refugee camp, taken second overall in the MLS draft
Haji was born in a refugee camp in Kenya and arrived in the United States in 2004, settling in Manchester, New Hampshire. He began in NCAA Division III at New England College — the bottom of the American college pyramid — transferred to Virginia Commonwealth, and was named Atlantic 10 Midfielder of the Year in 2018 with five goals and ten assists. The San Jose Earthquakes then took him second overall in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation Adidas signing. No player has come further, in either sense.
2nd
Overall pick, 2019 MLS SuperDraft
5 + 10
Goals and assists in his award-winning college season
III
The NCAA division he started in
Did you know
Kakuma refugee camp to the second pick in the MLS draft
He was born on 1 December 1999 in the Kakuma refugee camp in north-western Kenya, after his parents fled Somalia. The family reached the United States in 2004 and settled in Manchester, New Hampshire. He went from New England College to Virginia Commonwealth, was named Atlantic 10 midfielder of the year in 2018, signed as a Generation Adidas player, and was taken second overall by the San Jose Earthquakes in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft.
2nd
Overall pick, 2019 MLS SuperDraft
2004
The year the family reached America
Kakuma
The camp in Kenya where he was born
Did you know
He played for the United States at three youth levels, then chose Somalia
He represented the USA at under-15, under-17 and under-19 level before deciding his senior international football belonged to Somalia, debuting on 23 March 2022 in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Eswatini. His club career has run from San Jose and Reno 1868 through FC Tulsa to Vermont Green — a reminder that a high draft pick guarantees a start, not a career.
3
US youth levels he played at
2022
His senior debut for Somalia
4
Professional clubs since the draft
Career record
Born in Kakuma refugee camp and drafted second overall by San Jose Earthquakes in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, with later spells at Reno 1868, San Jose Earthquakes II, FC Tulsa and Vermont Green. Plays internationally for Somalia.
Career appearances and goals reconciled against Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siad_Haji)
82
Appearances
7
Goals
0
Assists
2
Caps
0
Int'l goals
AI score breakdown
| Criterion | Score | Max |
|---|---|---|
| League Strength | 18 | 25 |
| Club Prestige | 10 | 20 |
| Titles Won (weighted) | 3.8 | 20 |
| Impact | 10 | 15 |
| Total | 41.8 | 80 |
Either side of him in the ranking
Ahead of him · Number 13
Behind him · Number 15