Sacha Kljestan will now create goals for Orlando City FC. (Keith Furman/FrontRowSoccer.com Photo)
For the second year in a row, the Red Bulls have traded their captain to a team in their conference.
The Red Bulls dealt international midfielder Sacha Kljestan to Orlando City SC for Carlos Rivas and defender Tommy Redding, ESPNFC.com’s Jeff Carlisle reported Tuesday.
New York also $150,000 in target allocation money to Orlando, sources told ESPN.com.
The 32-year-old Kljestan, the Red Bulls’ all-time assists leader (51), paced Major League Soccer in that department this past season (17), even though the former Seton Hall University standout struggled at times. He began only the second player in league history to reach 20 assists in a season in 2016.
In January 2017, the Red Bulls traded then captain Dax McCarty to to the Chicago Fire for $400,000.
Kljestan also had been linked to expansion team Los Angeles Football Club and Minnesota United.
He will give Orlando City a solid central midfielder who can give teammates scoring opportunities, replacing Brazilian international Kaka, who retired after last season.
Kljestan is suspended for the first two games of the MLS season due to his tunnel skirmish with Toronto FC in the second leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals in the MLS Cup playoffs.
Rivas, who can play either up front or on the wing, scored eight goals in 78 appearances with Orlando since 2015. He enjoyed his best MLS year in 2017, registering five goals and five assists in 21 starts over 30 matches and 1,960 minutes.
Redding, a center back who turns 21 Jan. 24, was signed as Orlando’s first MLS Homegrown player at the age of 17 in March 2014. Last year Redding made 14 starts over 18 games, registering 1,406 minutes. He received four yellow cards and caused 13 fouls.
He also played with the U.S. Under-20 national team.
