Attacking midfielder Rian Jamai has signed with the Crystal Palace academy, and will immediately join American-owned Belgian club RWD Molenbeek for the remainder of the season.
Palace confirmed the move on their website, along with the simultaneous signing and loan of American-developed, Bolivian attacker Sebastian Joffre. Both players have spent time in the FC Florida Prep Academy in Palm City.
Jamai was additionally a member of the Portland Timbers academy, where he played from 2017-2018, scoring 7 goals in 16 appearances for their U16/17 team. More recently, he spent time in Morocco in the U21 team of Maghreb de Fès.
The 20 year-old follows a similar path to current Molenbeek player Jacob Montes, who was also developed as a teenager at both the FC Florida academy and in the Portland Timbers youth setup. Montes was signed by Crystal Palace in mid-2021, and is currently at Molenbeek, after a half-season stopover in fellow Belgian second-division club Waasland-Beveren.
“I’m really excited to seek this opportunity and to see what it has in store,” Jamai stated through the Crystal Palace press release following his signing. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime so I understand what I have to do. I’m ready to put my head down and work.”
His new club Molenbeek was recently acquired by American investor John Textor, who is also a significant shareholder in Crystal Palace.
Molenbeek is currently in the hunt for promotion to the the Belgium’s top division, fighting it out with Waasland-Beveren for the promotion playoff spot.