Real Salt Lake made a pre-season move in the market, signing 25-year-old forward William Agada from Sporting Kansas City. The deal can generate as much as $850,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) in the Midwest team, with at least $500,000 guaranteed for the year 2025 and the remaining $350,000 dependent on whether an extension contract is signed by the player in the future. Kansas City is entitled to a percentage in case there is another future sale.
Agada is a familiar name to MLS fans. He signed for Sporting KC in the United States from Hapoel Jerusalem in Israel in June 2022. He has accumulated 21 goals and 5 assists in 64 league matches. In total, he scored 24 goals from 77 appearances in all tournaments for Sporting KC.
Consistent individual performance in a difficult season
In 2024, Sporting Kansas City went through one of their toughest years in recent years. Sporting lost the Western Conference season second only to last, but Agada was still consistent on the attacking end. Agada scored 12 goals and had 4 assists in 40 games, a team tie for goals leader and most appearances with any single player, only sitting out for two games for the entire season.
In the MLS regular season, Agada played 20 of the 32 games and scored 10 goals to be the team's top scorer for the second consecutive year. For the second time, the club gave him its Golden Boot award, replicating what he achieved in 2022. Despite being in a losing squad, there was a consistent level of production from the Nigerian striker.
RSL arrival fills vacuum created by Arango's exit
Real Salt Lake saw its offense decline with the loss of Cristian Arango in the offseason trade with the San Jose Earthquakes last winter. Agada completes the gap in providing experience as a player from within the league with the skillset to catch up relatively fast. He joins Diego Luna, Diogo Gonçalves, and Dominik Marczuk in providing depth to the team's forward ranks.
Agada could provide useful alternatives to the team, to play or come off the bench. He is 25, and at that age, he also possesses transfer market value and potential to develop.