Report: Anatole Abang on trial with Silkeborg IF

If, as suspected, the New York Red Bulls exiled Anatole Abang to Denmark to position him for a transfer, then the club must have been pleased to hear that its on-loan forward is on trial with Silkeborg.

Midtjyllands Avis reports the player is one of several spotted at the Danish Superliga club's winter training camp. Less encouragingly, Silkeborg Development Manager, Jesper Stuker, singled out trialist Emmanuel Mensah as "an exciting player". No mention of Abang reported.

The same report also describes a training ground squabble between a couple of Silkeborg players, and the club has already canceled plans for a mid-winter trip to Turkey over security concerns. Perhaps Abang would be better off in a more settled environment.

He is reportedly set to return to current club Hobro on January 18 - perhaps because the team's first winter-break friendly is on January 19. Hobro has changed managers recently, so Abang is effectively on trial there too.

Abang has had a challenging few weeks: he was one of the final cuts from the Cameroon squad prior to the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, and now he seems to be on the lookout for a new club. A testing start to the new year for the 20-year-old forward.