From left to right: FC Motown co-owner Scott Kindzierski, FC Motown head coach Sacir Hot, FC Motown midfielder Dilly Duka FC Motown co-owner Dan Karosen. (Photo by Marcelle Karosen)

Dilly Duka is returning to his roots.

The former Red Bulls midfielder and Montville, N.J. native has signed with FC Motown for the National Premier Soccer League season.

The expansion team called it “one of the biggest transactions the league has seen this offseason.”

ESPN FC reported Monday that the former Rutgers University standout would sign with the team.

Duka, 28, has made 141 appearances and 97 starts over eight seasons in Major League Soccer. A former member of the United States Under-20 and U-23 national teams, Duka recorded 12 goals and 14 assists for those sides.

The move was a natural one for Duka to regain fitness and sharpness following offseason ankle surgery.

“This is an exciting move for FC Motown as we enter our first year in the NPSL,” FC Motown co-owner Scott Kindzierski said. “Dilly provides experience at both the MLS level, which is quite high, as well as playing internationally for the U-20 and U-23 national teams. He’s a local player who played his high school and college soccer in New Jersey. This is an addition to our roster that clearly shows our ambition to step in and compete right away in the NPSL.”

FC Motown will play its first NPSL season at Drew University in Madison, N.J. The facility is home to one of the top Division III college soccer programs on both the men’s and women’s sides. In 1994, Drew’s campus and fields were home to the Republic Ireland’s national team during the World Cup.

“Adding a player like Dilly is a great fit to what is already a solid roster we’ve pieced together,” FC Motown head coach Sacir Hot said. “He brings tremendous creativity and flair on and off the ball. The addition of a player with his resume and leadership abilities will raise the level of our whole team.”

Hot, in his third season as head coach of FC Motown, is a former member of the Red Bulls and had four appearances with the U-20 national team.

FC Motown play in the Northeast Region’s Keystone Conference in the NPSL, the fourth tier of American Soccer.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.