Jesus Ferreira was officially unveiled as the Seattle Sounders’ newest acquisition on Wednesday. Ferreira comes to the Sounders as the centerpiece of a trade with FC Dallas that sees Léo Chú, a potential total of $2.3 million in General Allocation Money and an international roster spot going the other way. As part of the move, Ferreira also signed a long-term contract extension that brings him off his Designated Player tag.

“We’re very excited to come to an agreement to bring Jesús to Seattle,” Sounders GM Craig Waibel said in a team statement. “He’s a player who not only brings a great deal of talent, but also complements the strengths of our existing roster. Jesús’ versatility allows him to operate in multiple attacking roles, giving our coaches more tactical options in different game situations. His creativity and movement will enhance our ability to break down defenses, and we’re confident he’ll be a valuable contributor to the team’s success moving forward.”

In Ferreira, the Sounders now have a 24-year-old forward who has 53 MLS goals and 15 more in 23 appearances with the United States men’s national team. He is the youngest player to reach at least 50 MLS goals — one of only five players in MLS history to do that before he’s 25 — and he already ranks 13th on the USMNT’s all-time scoring list. Eddie Johnson, who scored 19 goals in 63 USMNT appearances, is the only player ahead of Ferreira on the all-time USMNT scoring list with fewer than 75 appearances. No player with at least five USMNT appearances has a better scoring rate than Ferreira’s .65 goals per match.

His highlight reel shows a player who can score in a variety of ways and from all over the pitch.

“What excites me the most is his movements in the attacking half of the field and finishing ability inside the 18-yard-box,” Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said in a team statement. “I’m looking forward to integrating him into our group and seeing how his qualities gel with the talented players we already have. I’m confident he’ll make a big impact for us going forward.”

Despite all those achievements, Ferreira was available in large part because of his struggles over the past 18 months. After scoring 28 goals between the start of the 2022 season and the midway point of 2023 – and then scoring seven more in five Gold Cup matches – injuries and poor form have limited to him to just seven goals in 32 regular-season appearances since then.

The Sounders are obviously banking on a change of scenery helping him regain his previous form.

The package the Sounders had to assemble in order to make the trade happen is easily the biggest they’ve made in an intraleague move, and one of the biggest in MLS history. Earlier this offseason, the New England Revolution sent a package of assets worth up to $3.5 million in GAM to Inter Miami for Leo Campana. The combined assets of the Sounders move is somewhere between $2.5 million and $3 million, depending on how Léo Chú is valued.

The way the trade is structured, though, allows the Sounders to avoid sacrificing much of their 2025 roster build. The Sounders started this offseason with at least $4.5 million of GAM. Of the $2.3 million of potential GAM they’re giving up, $500,000 won’t be paid out until 2026 and up to $800,000 will only be paid if certain performance metrics are met. The Sounders still have an open international roster spot – likely earmarked for a U22 signing – and Chú didn’t really seem to be in Schmetzer’s plans after playing just 714 minutes last year.

But the key to the trade was apparently Ferreira’s willingness to agree to a new contract. Ahead of the 2022 season, Ferreira signed a a contract extension that made him a Designated Player, albeit one who’d only count $200,000 against the cap for the first three seasons despite paying him well beyond that. This year, which was due to be the final guaranteed year, he would have not only been a senior DP, but would also count almost $750,000 against the cap. For the Sounders to complete the deal, however, they needed Ferreira to reduce his salary by nearly $500,000 to get below the mandatory DP level of about $1.75 million. He was apparently willing to do that while also extending his contract for three more years with club options in 2028 and 2029. FC Dallas also retained a portion of any future transfer either within or outside the league. The Sounders will also retain a portion of Léo Chú’s potential sell-on if he’s sold within MLS or elsewhere.