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Los Angeles FC sign Honduran star on a free transfer

Los Angeles FC have confirmed the signing of Andy Najar on a free transfer. The Honduras international will officially join the club when his contract with Anderlecht expires at the end of the month.

The former DC United man will make the return to Major League Soccer after seven years with Anderlecht where he has made 164 appearances, contributing 14 goals and 16 assists in the process.

Najar has not played any competitive football over the 12 months after the serious knee injury suffered in an international friendly last summer. He was, however, training with Los Angeles prior to the coronavirus outbreak this year and the club have eventually decided to land his signature.

Los Angeles managed to acquire the top spot in the MLS Allocation order from Nashville SC in February in exchange for a combined fee of around $350,000 in General Allocation Money and that gave them the priority to sign Najar, who was at the top of the ranking list.

Najar is primarily a right-back by trade, but he is also capable of playing further up the playing field. His versatility makes him a quality signing for Los Angeles, but there are doubts whether he can remain unscathed over an extended period of time.

During his seven years at Anderlecht, the 27-year-old has been hampered with multiple long-term injuries and they have contributed to him missing more than 125 appearances for the Belgian heavyweights across all competitions.

He will formally join the club at the end of the month and should be in line to feature in the MLS is Back Tournament which is a World Cup-style format held in Florida. Los Angeles have been drawn in Group F alongside Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers and rivals Los Angeles Galaxy.

With the talent of Carlos Vela in their ranks, they should comfortably make it out of their group and will be favourites to go on to win the 26-team tournament. Vela has been a superb purchase for Los Angeles and he has bagged 57 goals and 23 assists from just 71 games.

Stats from Transfermarkt.com

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