The Seattle Sounders are finalizing a deal to acquire forward Dejan Joveljic from Sporting KC, according to sources briefed on the situation who told The Athletic. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.
SKC will receive $6 million in a cash trade, the sources added. Seattle will bring in the designated player as a new marquee forward. Fabrizio Romano first reported the deal.
The move is a bold one for both clubs. A rash of injuries and underperformance have seen the Sounders slide down the standings. The move is the first significant outlay of cash in a transfer deal for the team since it signed Pedro de la Vega ahead of the 2024 season.
Joveljic, 27, starred for the LA Galaxy in their run to winning the MLS Cup in 2024, delivering 21 goals and eight assists in 33 games that year. He was sent to SKC in a cash trade worth $4 million after the season, as the Galaxy couldn’t make him a DP.
SKC loses its leading scorer but will receive a significant amount of allocation money and open another DP spot. SKC will convert the maximum amount of the transfer fee to allocation money ($3 million) and remains very active in the transfer market even after spending $18 million to sign winger Andre Luiz, the sources say.
The club just bought out midfielder Manu García and is in the market for two new DPs: one attacking midfielder and one center forward.
Analysis
Joveljic is regarded as one of the best finishers in MLS, and the Sounders desperately need finishing ability. Getting a player in his prime who has half a decade of high-level seasons in the league is about as low risk as a DP signing goes.
Joveljic scored 26 goals in 52 appearances for SKC in a season and a half, despite the team being in transitional years and not creating a ton of chances. He had a career-best 18 goals in 32 regular-season appearances last year as his club was fourth worst in expected goals. The Sounders were fourth in MLS in xG last season.
Seattle has struggled much more in attack in 2026, and the club has backslid over the last month to 12th in the Western Conference, scoring 21 goals in 19 matches. It is the second fewest in the league, with SKC at the bottom.
If the Sounders ever do get healthy, they will be fine. Even if they don’t, Joveljic has proved he’ll score goals no matter what.
For SKC, it’s a bold move, but the club will reinvest heavily with its open DP spots while creating further flexibility with an injection of allocation money in this deal.
Allocation money is a way to stretch a team’s salary cap and afford more expensive players who aren’t DPs. Teams can’t do that without outbound moves, and SKC’s roster didn’t have many players with value coming into 2026; the team has signed 17 new players this year.
Losing Joveljic was a difficult decision, the sources said, on and off the field. His production speaks for itself, as does his character, but with the club rebuilding from the ground up this year, it aims to build better for the medium-term future.
SKC is last in MLS this year anyway and is loading up for 2027 and beyond.
