City SC made its boldest move so far to strengthen its roster after its successful inaugural season on Tuesday, trading one of its more productive offensive players for a player who should help solidify the team’s central defense.
The team traded Jared Stroud, who had five goals and five assists in a season that revitalized his career, to D.C. United along with center back Lucas Bartlett and $300,000 of allocation money for defensive midfielder Chris Durkin, who has already has seven seasons as a pro before turning 24. Durkin, who has played 61 games for the United States at the youth level, was a teammate with City SC players Indiana Vassilev and Akil Watts and played under City SC assistant coach John Hackworth on the U.S. team at the 2017 Under-17 World Cup.
“Chris is a young talented defensive midfielder, who has gained a ton of great experience here in the U.S., over in Europe and with the youth national team,†said sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel in a statement released by the team. “He has a hard-working, ambitious and fighter mentality that makes him a good fit for this club.â€
People are also reading…
Durkin, who will turn 24 in February, made his debut with D.C. United when he was 16 and when he returned in March of 2022 from 2½ seasons in Belgium signed a U22 Initiative contract with D.C. United. That designation will carry over to City SC, where he will fill one of the team’s three spots. The U22 Initiative is designed to allow teams to invest in younger players and keep them in MLS rather than going to Europe, so while Durkin’s annual guaranteed compensation is $481,250 a year, he will count only $200,000 against the salary cap. His contract runs through 2024 with a club option for 2025.
In 2022, his fourth season in MLS, Durkin appeared in 31 games with D.C. United, starting 24, and had three goals and two assists. He was 16 years, 127 days old when he signed with D.C. United as a Homegrown player in 2016. He made his professional debut the next day in a U.S. Open Cup match. He didn’t appear in an MLS match until 2018 and was a regular in the D.C. United lineup until he was loaned to Belgian first-division club Sint-Truiden in August 2019. The move became permanent in 2020 when Sint-Truiden paid a transfer fee of $1.1 million.
Durkin played two full seasons in Belgium before returning to D.C. United for a $600,000 transfer fee (plus the $325,000 in allocation money D.C United had to pay Houston to move to the top of the allocation list to acquire him).
In addition to the 2017 U-17 World Cup, Durkin was also on the U.S. squad for the U-20 World Cup in 2019 and played with the U-23 team. He has not been called into the full national team.
D.C. United is remaking its roster after failing to make the playoffs for a fourth straight season and bringing in a new sporting director and coach.
Stroud’s all-out style endeared him to ºüÀêÊÓƵ fans. He played in 31 of City SC’s 34 games and started 25. He was fifth on the team in goals with five (including the second goal in club history, tying the inaugural game against Austin) and tied for second in assists. He was fourth on the team in goals and assists with 10.
And Stroud did this while being one of the lower-paid players on the team, with a base salary of $88,200.
“He is coming off a productive season in ºüÀêÊÓƵ for an expansion team that took the league by storm and played some highly attractive soccer,†said D.C. United sporting director Ally Mackay. “At 27, he’s in his prime years as a professional, and we believe that D.C. United is a great opportunity for him to take the next step in his career.â€
Bartlett, who was drafted but never played with Dallas, joined City SC in camp on a tryout basis and earned a spot on the team and played more than he was expected to, appearing in 14 games and starting 12, more than anyone other than the four players who started the season on the back line. His last appearance with the team came against Columbus in the Leagues Cup, though he did start two games with City2 down the stretch but injured his shoulder in one of them and had to come out.
The trade leaves City SC with 24 players on its roster. Teams have a 20-player senior roster, plus a 10-player supplemental roster, though they don’t have to fill all 10 of those spots. Clubs may begin signing free agents at noon Wednesday.