Yaya Toure signed with the Rapids. (Photo courtesy of the Rapids)

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The Colorado Rapids signed U.S. Under-17 winger Dantouma “Yaya” Toure to a Homegrown Player contract after acquiring his Homegrown rights from the Red Bulls in exchange for $50,000 in 2021 General Allocation Money, the club announced Thursday.

Toure, 16, joins the Rapids after spending the 2020 season with Red Bulls II in the USL Championship, where he scored three goals and added three assists in 13 appearances, six starts. He played for the Red Bulls Academy, scoring six goals in 14 appearances with the RBNY U-18/19s.

“Yaya is an exciting talent who has already shown tremendous potential through his performances in the USL Championship as a 16-year-old,” Rapids executive VP and general manager Padraig Smith said in a statement. “He’s powerful and explosive on the ball and has an ability to take on defenders that allows him to be a difference maker. We believe he has all the qualities necessary to develop into an elite player and are excited to see what the future holds for him.”

The 5-8, 148-lb. Toure has represented the U.S. at the U-16 and U-17 youth national team levels. In February 2020, Toure was part of the U.S. U-17 squad for the UEFA Development Tournament in England.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.