Minnesota United likely will sign longtime Seattle Sounders midfielder Ozzie Alonso, a MLS source said Monday.
The Loons have outbid a two-year offer expansion team FC Cincinnati made for the 33-year-old, MLSsoccer.com reported Monday afternoon. The team intends to pair him in the midfield with newly signed Jan Gregus, whom they obtained last month as their third designated player.
One of the most beloved players in Sounders history and long considered one of the league's best defensive midfielders, Alonso has played his entire MLS career there since he arrived in Seattle in 2009. He played on the Sounders' MLS Cup championship team in 2016. He started 21 of 25 regular-season games in which he appeared last season and played 277 regular-season games in his 10 seasons there.
Minnesota United has been searching for complementary pieces since it signed Gregus, a Slovakian national team member acquired from F.C. Copenhagen in Denmark because they believe his midfield play can connect its offense with its defense.
If the Loons signed Alonso — that could officially come as soon as Tuesday — he'll be the second of four or five new starters the team intends to add before they open their season March 2 at Vancouver.
The MLS SuperDraft is Friday and the team begins training later this month.
Jerry Zgoda
