Midfielder Perry Kitchen departs LA Galaxy for Columbus Crew

Columbus Crew SC announced Thursday they have signed midfielder Perry Kitchen, which officially brings his time with the LA Galaxy to a close.

Kitchen featured for LA for three seasons, and was a fixture in the lineup in 2020. All told, in his MLS career he’s played 218 regular-season games, split between the Galaxy and D.C. United.

I think you can look at this two ways from a Galaxy perspective. Kitchen had a thankless role in the midfield, as the destroyer on a team with a very shaky defense, and so he usually showed up through his mistakes, not his merits. And I do think he was quietly very consistent and more or less did his job to try and shield the defense in 2020.

At the same time, LA’s midfield clearly needs a revamp and the departures of Kitchen and Joe Corona means the Galaxy will likely lose MLS experience, but they need to try something new. Plus, there will still be plenty of experience with Jonathan dos Santos and Sacha Kljestan still under contract for 2021.

So I think this is a solid outcome from a Galaxy perspective. Kitchen will likely be a rotation option for the defending MLS Cup champs, and LA free up a roster slot and cap space officially with the player moving on. And now the club will get a chance to find a legitimate upgrade ahead of the new season. Best of luck to everyone in their endeavors!

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