The Seattle Sounders have completed the signing of veteran centerback Kim Kee-Hee, Sounder at Heart has learned. Kim, 35, has spent the last five seasons with Asian powerhouse Ulsan HD and was apparently interested in returning to the United States.
Somewhat complicating the move, though, was Kim still being under contract with Ulsan, forcing him to engineer an early exit. As recently as a day ago, the deal looked like it could fall apart, but the parties were apparently finally able to reach an agreement in the past 24 hours.
As recently as last season, Kim had been a significant part of Ulsan’s squad. Across all competitions, he played 31 games and logged more than 2,500 minutes as Ulsan finished first in the K League and advanced to the Asian Champions League semifinals. That marked the third straight year Ulsan had won their domestic league.
This year, however, Kim has played in just one of Ulsan’s six Champions League Elite matches and seemed to no longer be in the team’s plans.
It was not immediately clear when Kim would join the Sounders preseason, as he’ll need to complete a physical and obtain the necessary paperwork. Although he could meet the team in Spain, it’s entirely possible he won’t start formally training until the team returns to Seattle in early February.
The Sounders will likely look at Kim to effectively replace the veteran experience they lost in Nathan, and he’ll compete with the likes of Josh Atencio and Stuart Hawkins for backup minutes.
