In a long-rumored move, D.C. United has traded the rights to Perry Kitchen to the LA Galaxy for a combination of general allocation money and targeted allocation money. According to Jeff Carlisle of ESPN, it is $100K of general allocation money and $200K of targeted allocation money, which is a very good haul for a player who is not in D.C. United’s plans.
United kept Kitchen’s rights because they offered him a substantial deal to stay in MLS; Kitchen declined it and moved to Scotland and Heart of Midlothian, where he was made captain but eventually fell out of favor. After that, he moved to Randers FC in Denmark before getting a move back to Major League Soccer.
Throughout most of last year, a Kitchen move to any other team in MLS would have been cause for concern, given the team’s lack of depth at that position. However, the signing and play of Russell Canouse has alleviated that concern, and United has continued to add to their midfield with players like Junior Moreno and Ulises Segura and has Chris Durkin coming off a successful U-17 World Cup performance.