Kosuke Kimura is getting a fresh start for the second time in six months.
On Monday, the Portland Timbers announced they have traded the six-year MLS veteran to the New York, bringing his brief stint in the Pacific Northwest to a close after arriving in early July from Colorado. Portland received allocation money and the Homegrown rights to Bryan Gallego, a sophomore defender at the University of Akron, in the deal and sent Kimura and a 2013 second-round SuperDraft pick back to the Red Bulls.
Kimura, who was out of contract, has signed a new deal with New York.
“Kosuke is a player that has impressed our coaching and technical staff over the past several years and we are happy to bring him to our club,” Red Bulls sporting director Andy Roxburgh said in a statement. “He will provide us depth at the fullback position and his MLS experience will be an asset for us. In addition, we hope to bring in a player that can contribute to our squad with the pick we acquired from Portland in next January’s draft.”
The right back will compete with Brandon Barklage, who was recently re-signed by the Red Bulls, for a starting spot on New York's backline. Kimura started 16 games for the Timbers in 2012 after falling out of favor with the Rapids, who took him in the third round of the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft out of Western Illinois.
The 28-year-old started just four games his rookie season in Colorado before establishing himself as a regular under Gary Smith, averaging 23 starts per season from 2008-11 and scoring the game-winning goal against San Jose in the 2010 Eastern Conference Championship.
Gallego, meanwhile, just finished his sophomore season at Akron, where the 19-year-old played under new Timbers head coach Caleb Porter. The Kinnelon, N.J., native is a former captain for the US Under-18 national team and is currently a member of the US Under-20 national team pool.
