Fri Dec 23, 2016 10:06 pm
Cardiff City takes Sounders winger on trial
Aaron Kovar could find a home in the UK this year.
by Dave Clark
@bedirthan Dec 23, 2016, 1:18pm PST
After wrapping up a trial with Hibernian FC in Scotland Aaron Kovar, is now off to Cardiff City in Wales. Cardiff is currently 22nd in the Championship and was in the Premier League as recently as 2013-14.
Still, Garth Lagerwey sounded optimistic that Kovar would return to the Sounders for the 2017 season.
“He’s done this every year,” Lagerwey said about Kovar’s overseas training stints. “He's got an Irish passport and he likes taking those opportunities to train in offseason. He's a kid we like and think can continue to improve and hope to give him an opportunity.”
In past seasons Kovar went on trial with Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday.
Aaron Kovar (born August 14, 1993) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.
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Early Career
Kovar was part of Emerald City FC from 2009-2019, and then the Seattle Sounders FC Academy between 2010 and 2012, before moving to Stanford University, where he played college soccer for two years. In 2013, Kovar also appeared for Seattle Sounders FC U-23 in the USL PDL
Seattle Sounders FC
On January 9, 2014 it was announced that Kovar, along with fellow academy teammate Sean Okoli, had signed a professional contract with the Seattle Sounders FC through the Homegrown Player Rule.
Kovar was loaned to USL Pro club Orange County Blues on June 10, 2014.
The left midfield situation with Cardiff is cluttered and unclear with seven different players starting a league match there. Their most well known left mid in the US would be Canadian Junior Hoilett. They are currently in danger of relegation, again.
Kovar signed with the Sounders after leaving Stanford as a sophomore in 2014. This was, by far, his best MLS season as he made 16 first-team appearances and 10 starts. He also scored his first MLS goal, but a clavicle injury helped limit him to just one substitute appearance after a July 17 loss to the Portland Timbers.