Perry Kitchen will trade in his DC United kit for an LA Galaxy kit in 2018. (image credit: Simon Heseltine/Wikimedia Images)
By Ivan Yeo
The Galaxy have made a major addition to its defensive core.
On Tuesday, the Galaxy acquired midfielder Perry Kitchen, whose rights had been with DC United. The Galaxy will send $100,000 of general allocation money and $200,000 of Targeted Allocation Money to the nation’s capital.
“Perry has proven himself to be a top midfielder in Major League Soccer during his time with D.C. United,” said LA Galaxy Head Coach/General Manager Sigi Schmid in a statement. “He has continued to progress during his time in Europe and we are confident he can bolster our midfield. At only 25 years old, Perry is already an MLS veteran and will be a great addition to the LA Galaxy on and off the field.”
Kitchen comes to StubHub Center by way of Europe, when he had stints with Scotland’s Heart of Midlothian and Denmark’s FC Randers, Before then, Kitchen started his professional career in 2011 when he was drafted third overall by DC United following a standout college career at Akron, where he led the Zips to the national title. Kitchen made 30 starts for DCU and was a finalist for Rookie of the Year honors. Kitchen went on to make 158 appearances, starting 155 matches and was named the team’s Player of the Year in 2013, the same season in which Perry helped United to the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup trophy.
The move is the latest in a long string of moves made by Schmid in an effort to shore up its defense. The team resigned left back Ashley Cole and signed two international defenders, Norwegian Jorgen Sljelvik and Venezuelan defender Rolf Feltscher. Schmid also acquired goalkeeper David Bingham from San Jose and selected defensive midfielder Servando Carrasco in stage two of the MLS re-entry draft.
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