Minnesota United on Thursday signed veteran MLS defender Zarek Valentin to a one-year contract with a club option.
Minnesota United signs former Houston defender Zarek Valentin
Before his three years with Houston, Valentin played four seasons with Portland, where he started on a team that reached the 2018 MLS Cup final.
December 9, 2022 at 1:36AM
Valentin, 31, is primarily a right back signed to provide backline depth and locker-room presence at a salary-cap friendly price. He signed a senior minimum salary and fills a Loons' supplemental roster slot without impacting their cap.
He grew up in Pennsylvania, attended Akron University and played 10 MLS seasons with Chivas USA, Portland and Houston beginning in 2011 after Chivas selected him fourth overall in the MLS SuperDraft. He played four of those seasons with Portland, where he started on a team that reached the 2018 MLS Cup final, and the last three with Houston, where he started 50 games.
Valentin played in Norway from 2013 to 2015 before he returned to MLS in 2015 with the Timbers. He played on United States' U-23 and U-20 teams and has played on Puerto Rico's national team since 2021.
The Loons on Tuesday signed veteran free-agent goalkeeper Clint Irwin to a two-year, senior-team contract with a club option.
Also Thursday, the Loons' MNUFC2 reserve team signed midfielder Zaydan Bello to a one-year MLS NEXT Pro contract with a club option, starting next month. Bello played most recently for Melbourne Victory in Australia's top A-League Men.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
