TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
St. Louis CITY SC have signed South African midfielder Njabulo Blom from Kaizer Chiefs FC ahead of their 2023 expansion season, the club announced Friday.
Acquired via an undisclosed transfer fee, Blom's contract runs through the 2024 MLS season with option years for 2025 and 2026.
"We are excited to bring a young South African national team player like Blom to our squad and St. Louis," sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in a release.
"His ball-winning, super-aggressive, warrior qualities as a central defensive midfielder match what we are looking for in our philosophy. Blomās addition to our team is exactly the missing puzzle piece we needed."
Blom, 23, should push for a starting spot in St. Louis' central midfield alongside Designated Player Eduard Lƶwen, who signed last summer from German Bundesliga side Hertha BSC. St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell is a South Africa native who played for Kaizer Chiefs, offering familiarity with the deep-lying midfielder.
In three and a half seasons with Kaizer Chiefs, Blom had eight assists in 94 games. He helped the club finish second in South Africa's top-flight league in 2019-20, their best finish since 2014-15.
At the international level, Blom made his senior-team debut for South Africa during a World Cup qualifier against Ghana in September 2021. He helped guide South Africa to a third-place finish at the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations in 2019, then played at that year's FIFA U-20 World Cup.
St. Louis make their MLS debut on Feb. 25 when visiting Austin FC, then return home on March 4 for their home debut vs. Charlotte FC at CITYPARK.
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