- RSL acquires veteran DeAndre Yedlin from FC Cincinnati before MLS deadline.
- Yedlin, a 32-year-old USMNT defender, brings experience with 81 international caps.
- He joins RSL to strengthen the right back position for a playoff push.
SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake might finally have its long-term answer at what has been the revolving door position of right back.
The club acquired 32-year-old Seattle native DeAndre Yedlin from FC Cincinnati ahead of Thursday's MLS transfer deadline, as first hinted at by head coach Pablo Mastroeni on ESPN 700 and reported by MLS insider Tom Bogert.
Yedlin arrives in Utah as the most experienced right back on the team by a country mile, and is set to replace converted defensive midfielder Noel Caliskan, who has filled in admirably this season at what has been the club's shakiest position since trading homegrown Aaron Herrera in 2022.
Cincinnati's return for Yedlin has not yet been revealed, but he was acquired from Miami in 2024 for $172,799 in general allocation money. He appeared in 67 matches for Cincinnati, including all 27 MLS matches so far this season for the team tied with San Diego for the best record in the league.
Bogert included in his report that Yedlin will sign a "new long-term deal" with RSL, which will be his fourth MLS squad after starting his career with his hometown Seattle Sounders and making his return to the U.S. with Inter Miami in 2022 after seven years in Europe.
Yedlin will instantly be one of the most experienced players on RSL's roster, not only from a league perspective but also internationally, with 81 appearances with the U.S. men's national team under his belt, including two World Cups.
His breakout at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil earned the then-21-year-old a blockbuster move to Premier League powerhouse Tottenham Hotspur, though he appeared in just one match for the first team.
Yedlin's most successful European stint came with fellow Premier League side Newcastle United, where he played in 125 matches across five seasons.
#OnThisDay in 2019, DeAndre Yedlin flew through the air to score a powerful header for @NUFC 👊 pic.twitter.com/eId8Q2rkg0
— Premier League USA (@PLinUSA) November 9, 2023
By the time the USMNT qualified for another World Cup in 2022, Yedlin was a veteran on the team, a role he figures to continue playing on as a still relatively young RSL squad fighting to make the playoffs.
Yedlin contributed four assists this season with Cincinnati and tends to play more of a "wing back" position, contributing to the attack, as well as defending all along the right side of the field.
RSL typically plays its left back higher up the field than its right back, but the option to flip it couldn't hurt for a team still searching for a consistent, balanced attack.
Yedlin has gone almost the full 90 minutes in both of Cincinnati's last two MLS outings, meaning the new arrival should be match-fit and ready to contribute immediately.
RSL takes on Western Conference second-place side Minnesota United on Saturday at America First Field, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. MDT.
