Saving their most expensive move of a furious secondary transfer window for last, D.C. United announced the acquisition of US national team winger Paul Arriola from Mexican side Club Tijuana on Thursday morning.
United acquired Arriola’s rights from the LA Galaxy, whose youth system he spent time in early in his career, in exchange for $300,000 in General Allocation Money ($200,000 in 2018 and $100,000 in 2019) and $200,000 in Targeted Allocation Money in 2018. The 22-year-old has signed a multi-year contract and will be classified as a Young Designated Player; completion of the transfer is pending the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate.
“We have had an eye on Paul for a while, and his intelligence, pace, technical ability and bright future with the national team make him a perfect fit for this organization as we continue to bolster our roster,” Dave Kasper, United general manager and VP of soccer operations, said in a team statement. “Thanks to the investment from ownership, we’re extremely excited to have secured a high-caliber U.S. international for the long term.”
A product of Chula Vista, California, Arriola has made 109 appearances in all competitions for Tijuana since the 2013-14 season and has played winger, wingback and right midfield roles for club and country. He has featured regularly for Bruce Arena's US team in recent World Cup qualifying and 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup action, scoring two goals in 11 USMNT caps.
Arriola is the fourth signing of the window for struggling D.C., with all of those transactions taking place since Aug. 4. He joins American central midfielder Russell Canouse, Hungarian international winger Zoltan Stieber and teenage Bolivian forward Bruno Miranda as the Black-and-Red's new arrivals. Arriola is expected to arrive match-fit after playing through the Gold Cup in July and making one league appearance for Tijuana already in the 2017 Apertura.
D.C. also parted ways this week with veteran midfielder Lamar Neagle and defender Bobby Boswell, who were traded to the Seattle Sounders and Atlanta United, respectively.
