The Seattle Sounders added defender Brad Smith on loan from Bournemouth on Wednesday, hours before the deadline of the MLS secondary transfer window.
Smith, 24, will join Seattle on a one-year loan deal until the middle of the 2019 MLS season in June, though the Premier League club will be able to recall him in January if the Cherries choose to do so.
The Australia international appeared in five Premier League games in 2016-17 after joining Bournemouth from boyhood club Liverpool, but he only appeared in three cup games last season while struggling with a hip injury and finding himself behind Charlie Daniels in the pecking order.
Smith has made 19 appearances for Australia and featured heavily in the World Cup qualifying campaign, though he was left off the final squad that played in Russia.
Welcome to the club, Brad Smith! 💚💙
— Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) August 8, 2018
24-year-old fullback joins the Sounders on loan from English Premier League's AFC Bournemouth.
📝 https://t.co/JX5C6qoTCW pic.twitter.com/STm3glWla0
The Sounders, who are just outside the Western Conference playoff spots with 12 games to play, used targeted allocation money to complete the loan.
"Brad is a good player with a strong background and a skillset that we believe fits the style we want to play in the most important part of our season," Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said in a statement. "He has participated at some of the elite levels of professional football, and we think he can give us some immediate help down the homestretch."
