TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
Columbus Crew SC and free agent midfielder Perry Kitchen have agreed to a contract, the club announced Thursday.
Kitchen, who turns 29 next month, spent the last three seasons with the LA Galaxy. He started 19 games for the club in 2020. He got his debut in MLS in 2011 with D.C. United after being the No. 3 overall selection in the SuperDraft. He was a finalist for Rookie of the Year that season and made at least 30 starts with United in each of his five seasons with the club.
“Perry is a seasoned player whose addition to our roster will help bolster our midfield,” Crew president & GM Tim Bezbatchenko said in a club statement. “Along with bringing a decade of professional experience and leadership in MLS and abroad, Perry will provide another important veteran voice to our locker room. We believe that his qualities as a player on and off the field will allow him to fit right in at our club.”
Between stints with D.C. and the Galaxy, Kitchen headed to Europe. He spent a year and a half with Hearts in Scotland, and was named club captain during his time there, before joining Danish club Randers in 2017.
Kitchen joins a deep midfield group, with starters Darlington Nagbe and Artur ahead of talented homegrowns Sebastian Berhalter and Aidan Morris.
The Crew are reigning MLS Cup champions.
