The New York Red Bulls are moving on from their midfielder and USMNT member Sacha Kljestan. The team has sent Kljestan to Orlando City SC alongside $150,000 in targeted allocation money, getting forward Carlos Rivas and defender Tommy Redding in exchange.
It may be a strange decision for the Red Bulls to trade away their captain and league’s assist leader, but it looks like that was the best choice for both sides.
“Listen, it was not an easy decision,” – said Red Bulls sporting director Denis Hamlet. “We assessed our roster both in terms of how we can improve our team and a situation that was advantageous for Sacha and looked and spoke to different teams and saw the ability to add two young players in Carlos Rivas and Tommy Redding who we know pretty well obviously from playing them over the last three years in the Eastern Conference.“
On the other hand, Orlando City SC was very pleased to have got a man who had 20 assists in past MLS season.
“We are thrilled to bring Sacha to Orlando,” – said team’s general manager Niki Budalic. “His ability to see the field and make the final pass will be huge assets for us. But more than that — he’s a winner. He’s won everywhere he’s gone, and we look forward to that continuing here.“
Sacha Kljestan started his professional soccer career with Chivas USA in 2006 and spent four years with the team before heading to Europe. In Europe, he signed with Belgium’s Anderlecht in 2010 and played 132 matches while scoring 18 goals. He returned to the United States in 2015 when he signed with the Red Bulls. Kljestan also represented the United States on a national level 52 times, scoring on six occasions.
