FC Cincinnati’s 1-1 draw in the sweltering Central Florida humidity on Saturday night was a step in the right direction after a frustrating Leagues Cup exit last week. With 15 MLS regular-season matches remaining, the Orange and Blue sit sixth in the Eastern Conference standings (the top nine make the playoffs).
With just over two months remaining in league play—the regular season stretches into November this year because of the World Cup break—the matches will continue to arrive in rapid succession. Cincinnati is back in action at home tonight, welcoming New York City (seventh in the East) before taking on a struggling Seattle side Saturday night. FCC then has a week off before its next match at league-best Nashville, which will be the club’s eighth match in 29 days.
The end of August also brings us just days away from the close of MLS’s Secondary Transfer Window on September 2. General Manager Chris Albright has yet to make any moves; only figurative black smoke has emanated from the Mercy Health Training Center. But a report last week was a reminder that there could be notable outgoing transfers as well.
On August 12, MLS insider Tom Bogert reported that Cincinnati rejected a bid of $20 million—a fixed fee of $15 million, plus $5 million in potential add-ons—from English Premier League club Hull City for forward Kevin Denkey. Interest from newly promoted Hull City is the first reported offer from an EPL side that I’ve seen for Denkey, who is under contract through 2028 with a club option for 2029.
In February, Bogert reported that FCC would only consider bids “well north of $20 million” after purported interest from Spanish first-division club Real Betis and other clubs. Following the 2024 MLS season, Cincinnati acquired Denkey for a then-MLS-record fee of $16.2 million from Cercle Brugge in the Belgian first division.
If Albright is indeed holding out for a fixed fee of $20 million-plus for his star striker, the potential cost for a foreign team to acquire Denkey’s goal-scoring services would rank among the largest outgoing transfers in MLS history. Per TransferMarkt, the most expensive outbound transfers in MLS history are striker Jhon Duran to EPL side Aston Villa ($29.5 million), attacking midfielder Thiago Almada to Brazilian Serie A club Botafogo ($24.15 million), and winger Miguel Almiron to EPL’s Newcastle United ($24 million).
After a good-but-not-great first season in 2025, Denkey has raised his level in 2026. In league play, the 25-year-old is averaging 0.66 goals per 90 minutes, up from 0.59 in 2025. Across all competitions in 2026, Denkey has 15 goals and 4 assists. His 11 league goals are tied for third-most in MLS.
In 57 career matches for Cincinnati, Denkey has 32 goals and 6 assists, a rate of 0.65 goals per 90 minutes. That output compares favorably with former star striker Brenner, who tallied 26 goals and 7 assists in 62 matches in 2021-22, a rate of 0.48 goals per 90 minutes. (Brenner was recently linked with Columbus before suffering a serious foot injury last week.)
Denkey’s potential exit would complicate the end of the transfer window, forcing Albright and his staff to coordinate the exit, acquire a suitable short- or long-term replacement, and still reinforce the defense—all while juggling the league’s arcane roster rules. That’s no small task for a club that, despite its season-long mediocrity, still has its eyes on silverware in 2026.
Grant Freking is in his eighth year of FC Cincinnati coverage for Cincinnati Magazine.
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