Pedro de la Vega, a winger, joins the Seattle Sounders from Lanus.
With his arrival, the 22-year-old becomes Seattle’s first-ever Young Designated Player. He will now be a part of the Sounders attack, which already includes players like Leo Chu, Raul Ruidiaz, Albert Rusnak, and forward Jordan Morris of the USMNT.
After playing his whole professional career in Argentina with Lanus, where he finished the 2023 Liga Profesional season with six goals and three assists, De la Vega now plays for the Sounders. Since making his debut for Lanus at the age of 17, de la Vega has appeared in 126 games for the team, totaling 17 goals and 13 assists.
The Seattle Times reports that the Sounders paid about $7.5 million to sign the winger, making it the second-highest transfer fee in club history behind the $9 million paid for USMNT legend and Tottenham Hotspur icon Clint Dempsey in August 2013.
General manager and chief soccer officer of the Sounders Craig Waibel stated in a release, “We are thrilled to welcome Pedro to the Sounders organization and the city of Seattle.”
Pedro is a fantastic addition to our team both on and off the field. He is a gifted, exciting young player with a lot of promise ahead of him.”
De le Vega’s experience includes competing in one of South America’s elite club competitions, the Copa Sudamericana. Additionally, he has competed for the Argentina U20 and U23 teams at the youth international level.
“Preseason camp is a great opportunity to work with Pedro, and we are thrilled to have him join our team,” Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer continued. “He has an inventive skill set in the closing third and is a dangerous player. Our coaching staff is eager to see how he can improve our offensive output.”
With de la Vega in the mix, the Sounders are primed for another deep postseason run. They take on LAFC at BMO Stadium on February 24 to kick off their 2024 MLS campaign.
