Real Salt Lake has signed U.S. youth international Brooks Lennon from Liverpool on a permanent deal, the MLS side confirmed Wednesday.
An RSL academy product, Lennon signed with Liverpool in 2015 before spending the 2017 season on loan with Salt Lake. Sources told Goal on Monday that the 20-year-old winger was poised to rejoin RSL for the 2018 campaign after seeing his Liverpool opportunities limited because of issues securing a U.K. work permit.
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"Lennon is another key player in what we believe to be one of the youngest and most exciting attacking groups in the league, and Brooks adds depth to the choices the coaching staff possess each day as he can fill multiple roles within the front four and play them all very well," RSL general Craig Waibel said in a news release.
"Brooks took a different route than most, from Arizona to England and back to Utah — and he's now come back to our club and found success here on the field, and we expect even bigger things in 2018."
Lennon recorded three goals and four assists in 25 appearances for RSL, making 15 starts. The Arizona native also scored six goals in 11 appearances for the U.S. Under-20 national team in 2017 as the Americans won the CONCACAF Championship and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup in South Korea.
"I'm ecstatic — I knew I wanted to stay at Real Salt Lake," Lennon said. "Under the leadership of Mike Petke I thought I made huge strides in my development and I matured as a player on and off the field. It was a no-brainer for me to re-sign and I know that we have the quality to compete for hardware, and I'm excited to do that with a group of players that I grew up playing with."
