Michael Parkhurst‘s three-year tenure with Columbus Crew SC has come to an end.
The Black and Gold officially completed a move on Sunday that sent Parkhurst to MLS expansion side Atlanta United FC. News of the trade was speculated for a few days now, with Ives Galarcep reporting on a potential transaction between the two clubs last Wednesday. In exchange for Parkhurst, Columbus received an undisclosed sum of general allocation money.
The transaction took place during Major League Soccer’s half day trade window from 9 AM to noon.
Columbus Crew SC Trades Michael Parkhurst to Atlanta United FC
Parkhurst joined Crew SC in 2014 after spending the previous seven years of his career in Europe. The 32-year-old defender played in Denmark for F.C. Nordsjælland from 2008 to 2012 followed by a stint with German Bundesliga club Augsburg the next two seasons. He originally played for the New England Revolution after being drafted ninth overall in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft. He won league Rookie of the Year that season.
The Providence, RI native made 107 appearances (both regular season and playoffs) for Crew SC during his three seasons with the team. He was captain during his entire campaign in Columbus and only missed two games in that span. Despite failing to make the playoffs in 2016, Parkhurst helped the club make the postseason the previous two years. That included an MLS Cup appearance in 2015.
Parkhurst’s skill set is expected to align with Atlanta United head coach Tata Martino‘s tactical approach which emphasizes possession. In 2015, he finished with 84.6 percent passing accuracy which was second in MLS among defenders who logged a minimum of 2500 minutes. This year, he averaged 50.9 passes per game which was 20th best in the league.
Major League Soccer’s off-season will officially get into full swing this week. First up is the Expansion Draft on Tuesday, December 13th where Atlanta and Minnesota United FC have a chance to make five picks apiece from unprotected players among the 20 existing teams in the league. Later that day, free agency officially begins at 5 PM ET. On Thursday, the Waiver Draft takes place at 2 ET, followed by stage one of the Re-Entry Draft on Friday with stage two occurring on December 22nd.
