The Philadelphia Union announced the signing of Kenyan international midfielder Richard Odada on Tuesday afternoon.
Odada, who joined from Red Star Belgrade, signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with two club option years for an undisclosed transfer fee.
The 21-year-old defensive midfielder will take up an international roster slot following the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P1 Visa.
Odada has spent the entirety of his professional career playing in Serbian football and made two appearances for Red Star. He also had loan spells with two other Serbian clubs, where he made 25 appearances across two seasons for RFK Grafičar Beograd. Odada then joined FK Metalac Gornji Milanovac for the 2021/22 season as he made 28 appearances for the Serbian SuperLiga side.
Union Sporting Director, Ernst Tanner, was excited to get the versatile Kenyan midfielder signed to the team.
He said: “Richard is a holding midfielder with positional versatility and a great potential to be a valuable contributor as we continue to develop our roster.
"He can play multiple midfield roles as well as centre back, and he has the height, speed, and physicality we were searching for. We look forward to integrating him this year and encouraging his development for the future.”
Odada has earned five international caps for Kenya and made his debut in a 0-0 draw against Uganda in September 2021. He scored his first and only goal in a 2-1 win against Rwanda in November of that year.