CARSON, Calif. – Perry Kitchen didn’t see a return to Major League Soccer in the cards, but when the LA Galaxy came calling, the move was just too good to refuse.
Kitchen, 25, joined the Galaxy officially on Wednesday after spending two years in Europe splitting time between Scottish club Heart of Midlothian and Danish side Randers. To acquire the defensive midfielder, the Galaxy dealt $100k in General Allocation Money and 200k in Targeted Allocation Money to D.C. United for Kitchen’s MLS rights.
Although Kitchen was content in Europe, the defensive midfielder admits that when Galaxy boss Sigi Schmid came calling, he needed to reevaluate his place.
“I wasn’t planning on coming to MLS, but the opportunity presented itself, and after speaking to my wife, it was something that we wanted to pursue,” Kitchen told LA Galaxy Insider. “It’s coming back to familiar surroundings, winning football matches and just enjoying football.
“It was a good opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, and that was definitely a driving force behind the decision.”
A hard-nosed midfielder who can play either in a defensive holding role or a more two-way capacity, Kitchen rose through the ranks at Hearts after arriving from D.C. United in 2016. Within months, the Indianapolis native had become captain of the prominent Scottish club before moving on to Denmark.
In 2017, a lack of leadership on the field and in the locker room was a familiar refrain for coach and player alike, and ahead of the new season, Kitchen is hopeful of proving himself once again.
“Everyone leads in different ways. Once I get in with the guys, there will definitely be leaders. There must be, and there always is. For me, it’s coming in and doing my job,” Kitchen said. “Not stepping on any toes from the start, but rather slowly integrating into the group and allow my true personality to come out.”
Preseason just weeks away, Kitchen is ready to get down to business to help the Galaxy return to prominence and put their 2017 season in the rearview mirror.
“It’s certainly a challenge,” he said. “Bad seasons are possible, and there are sometimes when you look at the squad and can’t understand why you’re not getting results. The important thing is to brush it off and respond. We want to go back to winning ways, and that’s what I hope we can do this year.”
