Sounders to Sign Kansas City Star Striker Dejan Joveljić in $6 Million Deal

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Sporting Kansas City striker Dejan Joveljić dribbles the ball during a game against the New York Red Bulls at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. (Jay Biggerstaff / Imagn Images) [/caption]

The Seattle Sounders were sick of answering for their lack of midseason signings, and they put the criticism to rest on Saturday evening.

GM Craig Waibel and company reportedly agreed to sign Sporting Kansas City star striker Dejan Joveljić for $6 million, according to Fabrizio Romano and later confirmed by other sources. The 27-year-old Serbian was in his second season at KC after four successful years with the LA Galaxy, culminating in a 2024 MLS Cup win.

The move signals Seattle’s first summer signing since 2021, with the transfer window set to close on Sept. 2. In the midst of a record MLS eight-game losing streak, head coach Brian Schmetzer had repeatedly hinted at the Sounders having a move in the works.

That purported move apparently came to fruition on Saturday with the team on the road in Cincinnati, picking up a draw for its first points in eight fixtures. Seattle is 7-9-4 and in 11th place in the Western Conference — two points behind ninth-place Portland.

As for Joveljić, he’s scored 60 goals in five and a half MLS campaigns and brings instant offense to the second-least productive offense in the league. Seattle’s striker pairing of Danny Musovski and Osaze De Rosario has combined for just three MLS goals in 21 games while designated player Jordan Morris has missed large chunks of the season injured as his year-to-year production craters from all-time-leading-scorer territory.

Schmetzer has been openly challenging one of the strikers to make the starting job their own, to no avail on an offense that’s struggling overall.

To make way for the new DP, who's making a listed wage of $3 million according to Capology, Niko Moreno of Sounder at Heart reported the team extended DP Albert Rusnák by two-and-a-half years to move him out of a DP spot. If that report holds, Seattle’s three DP spots will be occupied by Joveljić, Morris (set to return in the next month) and injured winger Pedro de la Vega (out for the season, quad).

Rusnák’s deal, which carried a club option next season, has him carrying a cap hit of nearly $2.7 million this season, per Spotrac.com.

The deal also puts to use the funds Seattle has generated by its many outbound transfers of young players. Midfield Obed Vargas fetched $3 million from Atletico Madrid before the season while Georgi Minoungou (Colorado Rapids) and Danny Leyva (Nexaca) also pulled in $3 combined.

How Does Joveljić Fit?

Joveljić isn't considered to be an expected-goal generator by many, more of a true number nine in the fact that he's a finisher first.

Musovski, struggling in 2026 as he splits reps at striker with De Rosario, scored a team-high 14 goals in MLS last season by being in the right place at the right time for a team that was fourth in the league in xG generated. Seldom did he make a goal out of nothing, and it worked just fine as 2025 was the most productive scoring season in Sounders history.

Seattle, scorers of just 22 goals in 21 MLS games this season, isn't creating chances at as high of a clip, leading to far fewer opportunities for Musovski to go to work. While Joveljić may be a finisher first, he's managed eight MLS goals for SKC despite the bottom-ranked team generating the fewest xG in the league by a long shot (18.9 xG in 20 games).

For reference, Seattle has the sixth-lowest xG mark at 29.67 in 21 games. The point being: Joveljić has proven to be an effective scorer even in unproductive offensive lineups, and Seattle is leaps ahead of KC in producing chances.

Considering Musovski is just over a week removed from scoring the very first goal by a starting Sounders striker this season, head coach Brian Schmetzer could use a new hand.

He hasn't been shy about saying that either.

"I'll go on record as saying, yeah, we need some fresh blood in here," Schmetzer said after the loss to Austin on Wednesday. "It's obvious. But don't think for a second that we haven't talked about it."

When Can Joveljić Play?

Luckily for the Sounders, they don't have a game until Aug. 29 when they host Robert Lewandowski and the Chicago Fire.

Schmetzer was asked after tonight’s game, hypothetically with the transaction not being formally announced by either side yet, about when Joveljić could play. He gave a roundabout answer, but referred to it being far easier to get an intra-league transfer on the squad than if Seattle would've gone with a European prospect.

A week for Joveljić to complete a physical and integrate with the team is plenty, as visas shouldn’t be an issue.

It's also worth noting that Schmetzer said Seattle is still looking at potential signees, but take it with a grain of salt.

Was This the Right Move?

Time will tell if the Sounders signing a proven MLS striker at his athletic prime with no sustained injury history was the "right move," but it checks off plenty of boxes today.

Joveljic has proven he can score even in environments that don't produce xG in bunches, and with Seattle getting key pieces like Cristian Roldan back by the month's end, his addition is perfectly timed for an offensive renaissance. It also helps that Seattle picked up its first MLS point in over three months courtesy of a Rusnák assist at the same time. Seattle’s top playmaker has struggled this season, but Saturday could be a turning point.

A Day to Remember

Some Sounders fans bearing witness to Seattle's eighth straight loss against Austin on Wednesday wore bags over their heads — the telltale sign of a resigned fanbase.

For the team to snap the streak and make a splash signing worthy of international headlines at the same time was certainly a shock to the system.

A shock of the best kind.