An at-times troubled right-back position for the Sounders is getting international help as the team has reached a deal with Dutch first-division player Kelvin Leerdam for the July transfer window.
The signing, to be officially announced Saturday, will see Leerdam, 27, who played the past four seasons with SBV Vitesse, become the first Sounders player given Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) at the right-back position. The Sounders previously gave TAM contracts only to players at more premium positions, so this move speaks to both the growth of the league’s talent pool as well as the team’s obvious need on the back line.