Orlando City acquires Kljestan from Red Bulls

[January 03, 2018]    The New York Red Bulls traded captain Sacha Kljestan and $150,000 in targeted allocation money to Orlando City for center back Tommy Redding and attacking midfielder Carlos Rivas, according to multiple reports Tuesday.

Kljestan has led MLS in assists each of the past two seasons, recording a total of 51 over the past three seasons since returning to MLS from Belgium's Anderlecht. The 32-year-old has also scored 16 goals during that span.

Kljestan, who will miss the first two games of the 2018 season while serving a suspension for an incident against Toronto in the playoffs, is expected to fill the void in Orlando created by the retirement of Kaka.

It is the second consecutive offseason in which the Red Bulls have parted with their captain. The club traded Dax McCarty to the Chicago Fire last year.

Rivas, 23, spent his first three MLS seasons with Orlando City. He scored five goals during the 2017 campaign to go along with five assists for the Lions. He has eight goals and 13 assists in his MLS career.

Redding, 20, is a U.S. youth international and started 14 games for Orlando City last season. In three MLS seasons, he has played in 38 matches, including 31 starts.

--Field Level Media

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