TRANSFER FOLLOWER STATUS: Loan
The Seattle Sounders have ceded winger Jordan Morris to the English Swansea City championship for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, the club announced on Thursday. Athletic was the first to report the move on January 17th.
The 26-year-old is Swansea’s third signing out of the winter window, following the move of Ben Hamer from Huddersfield and the arrival of Conor Hourihane from Aston Villa. Currently, the Swans are second in the Championship standings.
Morris has been a highly successful national signing since joining the Sounders in January 2016. He has 35 goals and 20 assists in 105 MLS games, winning two MLS cups with Seattle and positioning himself in the top XI of the 2020 league.
“After all, this move has to do with Jordan and what he wants from his career,” Sounders CEO and football president Garth Lagerwey said in a statement. “Our club and the city are behind him as he begins the next phase of his journey, and if he returns to Seattle at the end of this loan, we know he will be stronger for the experience.”
Morris, who has 10 goals in 39 appearances for the U.S. men’s team, was given permission by Gregg Berhalter to leave the USMNT camp in Florida this past Wednesday. In a video call with reporters during the USMNT camp earlier this month, Morris admitted the European interest.
“I am very proud of the player and professional who has become Jordan. He has been a big part of the success of this club and has greatly earned this opportunity to trade abroad,” he said. Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer in a statement. “This particular move gives him a chance to show off his skill set and opens up a lot of options for his future. Also, I’m excited to see him play at Swansea.”
Morris had a chance to play overseas after playing in NCAA Division I football at Stanford, but turned down a move to Werder Bremen to play for his hometown team.