Sounders left back will finish this season before joining Darmstadt.
For months, rumors have been circulating about interest overseas in Joevin Jones’ services. There was more truth to them than many of us thought.
Jones has signed a pre-contract with 2. Bundesliga side SV Darmstadt 98, the club announced on Sunday. Jones will apparently finish out this season with the Sounders and join Darmstadt in January, likely on a free transfer. It had previously been reported that this was the final year of Jones’ contract. As long as the Sounders made a “bonafide” offer, they’d at least retain the 25-year-old’s rights if he were to return to MLS.
“It is a big step in my career, which I absolutely want to use,” Jones said in a team release.
SV Darmstadt 98 is managed by German national team legend Torsten Frings, who also played parts of two seasons with Toronto FC. He was hired about midway through last season, taking over Darmstadt when they were at the bottom of the Bundesliga table. He was unable to keep them from relegation. Darmstadt had ended a 33-year run outside of the top flight when they earned promotion ahead of the 2015-16 season.
"We are very happy that Joevin has chosen the Lilies,” Frings said in a team release. “He was an absolute favorite of us, who we would rather have in our team today than tomorrow and will help us immediately after his arrival.”
Jones is in the midst of what is shaping up as a record-breaking season for a MLS defender. He currently has nine assists, as many as any player listed as a defender since Diego Gutierrez logged 13 for the Chicago Fire in 2000.
Although it will be near impossible to replace his production, Nouhou’s recent rise at least gives the Sounders a reasonable analog. The 20-year-old Cameroonian has been among the biggest surprises this year, logging 455 minutes, including his fourth start of the season on Saturday against the LA Galaxy.
RELATED NEWS
Joevin signs with SV Darmstadt 98 in German Bundesliga 2
TTFA Media.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Joevin Jones has signed with German Bundesliga 2 club SV Darmstadt 98 until June 2020. The deal was confirmed on Sunday by way of an announcement by the club. He will join the club on a free transfer in January after signing a pre-contract with Darmstadt.
The 25-year-old former W Connection player will move from American Major League Soccer club Seattle Sounders, after arriving in MLS Soccer in December 2014 for his first signing with Chicago Fire.
“This is a big step for me, to move to Darmstadt 98 and to enter German football after the last two and a half years in the American MLS. I am very happy for the chance to prove myself at Darmstadt and I cannot wait to start with the club and help them achieve great things” Jones told TTFA Media on Sunday.
“I would like to thank everyone who has been there for me. I have had a solid and a half two years in the MLS which I have enjoyed and I would like to thank everyone at Seattle Sounders, my teammates and the fans who have supported me.
“Now I am looking ahead to moving onto another chapter in my career and I am looking forward to achieving great things with Darmstadt,” Jones added.
The club manager Torsten Frings stated: “We are very pleased that Joevin has decided to join us. He is an absolutely dream player and a player that we really wanted to have rather today than tomorrow. We trust him to pick up on his performances in the Major League Soccer and we are sure he is going to help us as soon as he is at Darmstadt.”
Frings is a former midfielder with Bayern Munich and played 79 matches for the German National Team.
At Darmstadt Jones will join American Terrence Boyd. Also at Darmstadt is former Turkish international and ex-Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altıntop, Polish international Artur Sobiech, Slovenia international Roman Bxzjak and Australian international Jamie Maclaren.
SV Darmstadt were promoted to the German Bundelisga for the 2015-2016 season but were relegated to Bundelisga 2 after losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich on the 32nd matchday last season.
Jones is in the midst of what is shaping up as a record-breaking season for a MLS defender. He currently has nine assists, as many as any player listed as a defender since Diego Gutierrez logged 13 for the Chicago Fire in 2000.