DC United sign defender Brendan Hines-Ike on permanent transfer

TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing

D.C. United have signed Brendan Hines-Ike on a permanent transfer from K.V. Kortrijk in the Belgian first division, the club announced Tuesday.

The American-born defender signed a two-year contract through 2023 with club options in 2024 and 2025.

“Brendan settled into MLS quickly after signing on loan with us last year and we believe he will be instrumental to our success in head coach Hernán Losada’s system moving forward,” Dave Kasper, D.C. United president of soccer operations, said in a statement. “He’s an intuitive defender who reads the game well and can lead our attack out of the back with his range of passing. We’re looking forward to his contributions to the club in 2022 and beyond.”

The 27-year-old was an important cog in D.C. United’s defense with 12 starts in 13 appearances before his season was cut short due to injury. He originally joined the Black-and-Red on a one-year loan from K.V. Kortrijk last March.

Hines-Ike will likely be even more important going forward with D.C. United not re-signing veteran Frederic Brillant, who made 104 appearances for them over the last four seasons.

“Signing Brendan on a permanent transfer is the club’s first step in bolstering the roster ahead of the 2022 season,” Lucy Rushton, D.C. United general manager, said. “He showed us last year that he has all the tools to be an integral center back in our system of play. We’re excited to sign him on through 2024 and believe that he will be a huge asset to our backline and club for the foreseeable future.”

Hines-Ike started his professional career with Örebro SK in the Swedish Allsvenskan after signing in January 2016.