TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
UPDATE (March 24) – D.C. United have re-acquired midfielder Chris Durkin from Belgian First Division A side Sint-Truidense V.V., the club announced Thursday.
Durkin was re-acquired through the Allocation Order. Houston Dynamo FC selected his rights with the No. 2 spot in the order and traded those rights to D.C. United in exchange for $325,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), as well as the No. 10 allocation slot.
Durkin, 22, has signed a three-year contract with D.C. through the 2024 season with a club option in 2025. He joins as a U22 Initiative Player.
Durkin was a product of D.C. United's academy and was transferred to STVV in 2019. Sources say D.C. paid $700,000 to re-acquire him after receiving around $1.4 million in the deal that originally sent him to Belgium.
“We are thrilled to welcome Chris back to the District after he started his professional career with us back in 2016,” Dave Kasper, D.C. United president of soccer operations, said in a release. “He has picked up valuable experience in Belgium's top division where he has matured and improved as a player. We believe that Chris will be a great addition to our roster and his skillset will adapt well into Hernán’s system of play. He has a great range of passing, covers a ton of ground, and has physicality on both sides of the ball. Chris rejoining the club will strengthen our roster as we push to qualify for the MLS Cup playoffs in 2022.”
ORIGINAL (March 23) – D.C. United have re-acquired midfielder Chris Durkin from Belgian Pro League club Sint-Truidense (STVV), via Houston Dynamo FC and the MLS Allocation Order, sources tell MLSsoccer.com.
DCU will pay STVV a $700,000 transfer fee, half of the $1.4 million total loan + transfer fee they sent him to STVV for in 2019. Due to that transfer, Durkin was on the Allocation Order. FC Cincinnati, holding the top spot, passed. Houston selected his rights No. 2 and have agreed to trade those rights to D.C. United.
Durkin will hit D.C. United's roster as a U22 Initiative signing.
The 22-year-old midfielder made 71 appearances with STVV in Belgium, including more than 1,500 minutes in each of the last two league campaigns. He can play as a No. 6 or No. 8 in central midfield.
Durkin was signed to a homegrown contract by D.C. United in 2016 and made 36 regular-season appearances, notching 1g/1a. He was a regular for the United States across various youth national team levels, including as captain of the U-17 side. He started four of the United States' matches at the 2019 U-20 World Cup, only missing the memorable win over France due to a yellow card suspension.
D.C. United, now in year two under head coach Hernan Losada, have taken six points from their first four MLS matches of 2022. Durkin joins the likes of Moses Nyeman, Russell Canouse and Sofianne Djeffal in the Black-and-Red's midfield.
