Columbus Crew acquire defender Malte Amundsen from New York City FC
The Crew have acquired left back Malte Amdunsen from New York City FC in exchange for up to $500,000 in general allocation money.
The Crew will send NYCFC $200,000 in GAM in 2023 and 2024, and up to an additional $100,000 if certain performance conditions are met. Amundsen, 25, will be under contract with the Crew through 2024 and the club has an option for 2025. He has not appeared for NYCFC this season but made 59 appearances with 37 starts for a total of 3,488 minutes across the 2021 and 2022 seasons, including all four playoff games in 2021 as NYCFC won MLS Cup.
"Malte is a young, experienced player who has already proven his potential overseas and in MLS, including quality performances in the playoffs,” Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. "We are really familiar with his skillset and competitiveness from his time in the Eastern Conference, and we are confident he will be a strong fit within our system."
The move, which was finalized on Monday, the final day of the primary transfer window for MLS, is in reaction to the knee injury that left wingback Will Sands suffered in Saturday's game against Charlotte FC. Sands tore the ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season.
Amundsen, a native of Denmark, will not require an international slot on the Crew's roster. He joined NYCFC from Danish club Vejle in February 2021. According to the most recent salary data, released by the MLS Players Association in October, Amundsen earned a base salary of $270,000 in 2022.
In the wake of Sands' injury, the Crew didn't have a clear replacement for him on the roster. Nancy inserted converted winger Yaw Yeboah against Charlotte, who also started two games earlier this season when Sands was out with a back injury, but the Crew were in need of a more natural wingback to fill the role. Amundsen played as a fullback in NYCFC's four-man back line, but he has the ability to get forward and cover ground as a wingback that the Crew require.
Defender Jimmy Medranda, who the Crew signed as a free agent in December, appears to be the natural replacement for Sands on paper, but his fitness has been a question throughout the season. Medranda made his first appearance for the Crew on March 11, scoring a goal shortly after coming on in the 81st minute, but Nancy said after the game that Medranda was still working his way up to full fitness.
Since then, Medranda has made four more appearances for the Crew. He's played a total of 40 minutes with the Crew this year, and he also played 74 minutes with Crew 2 on April 16.
On Saturday, Medranda came into the game in the 91st minute, and Nancy moved Yeboah to the right side. Nancy's reasoning for Medranda's usage left an impression that he still isn't up to playing a full game with the demands that the Crew place on the wingbacks.
"The idea is to have an offensive player in this position and to be able to repeat the action at that intensity," Nancy said Saturday. "That's why we felt that Yaw was able to do it. And Jimmy was not able to do it for the moment, for a long time. So that's why we made this change and Jimmy came in after that, to bring his quality in terms of the pass."
In Amundsen, the Crew have added an experienced MLS starter at a position of need.
"He is a very good 1v1 defender and likes to get stuck into tackles," then-NYCFC coach Ronny Deila said when Amundsen signed with the club. "His work rate is incredible, and he will give everything he has for all 90 minutes. Modern full backs must be able to attack and Malte likes to get forward and provide service into the box."
After Deila departed for Standard Liege last summer, Amundsen's playing time dropped under new coach Nick Cushing, and thus far this season, Amundsen has been on the outside looking in of Cushing's squad. The trade to the Crew, then, appears it will be beneficial for both parties, as Amundsen has a path back to regular playing time and the Crew fill a necessary hole on the roster.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Columbus Crew trade for New York City FC defender Malte Amundsen
