D.C. United on Friday made their first acquisition of the offseason, selecting veteran midfielder John Thorrington in the MLS re-entry draft’s second stage.
Thorrington, 33, is a former Manchester United and Bayer Leverkusen prospect who comes to United after spending the past two seasons with the Vancouver Whitecaps. A versatile player with four U.S. national team caps, Thorrington is most naturally a defensive midfielder who also can play as a winger or at right back.
The injury-prone veteran, who played with the Chicago Fire from 2005 to 2010, appeared in 19 matches (14 starts) last season. He has logged at least 20 games just once: in 2008, when he scored five goals in 23 contests.
United now have seven days to extend a “genuine offer” to Thorrington, who made $170,000 last year and is in line for a notable pay cut. This differs from last week’s first stage, in which clubs have less flexibility to negotiate down selected players’ salaries.
The Fire took United striker Maicon Santos as the only pick in that stage of the re-entry draft, which disperses veteran players whose options are declined or who are out of contract.
