The Seattle Sounders have signed Bournemouth defender Brad Smith on loan, the two clubs announced Wednesday.
The Australia international joins the Sounders until June 2019, though Bournemouth have an option to recall him in January.
Smith joins just ahead of the MLS secondary transfer deadline, which closes at the end of the day August 8.
“Combined with his background, Brad’s significant speed and versatility on the flanks make our team immediately better for the stretch run of the season,” Sounders General Manager Garth Lagerwey said in a statement. “We believe he can help our club continue its climb up the table and into the MLS Cup Playoffs.”
Smith will likely slot into the left side of the Sounders team – an area of the field where Seattle has struggled to replicate the production provided by Joevin Jones, who departed the club on free transfer after the 2017 season.
The 24-year-old left-back joined Bournemouth in 2016 from Liverpool after making a handful of appearances for the Reds.
However, he did not much feature for Bournemouth either, as he appeared in just five Premier League games in his two seasons there.
He also played for League One side Swindon Town, playing seven games for the club in 2014-15.
Smith joins a Sounders team that won the MLS Cup in 2016, and were Cup finalists in 2017, but has struggled in 2018, and currently sit eighth in the Western Conference.
However, the Sounders are in form, currently on a seven-match unbeaten run with wins in four straight games to pull them five games back of a play-off spot.