TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
The San Jose Earthquakes announced a significant signing for the summer transfer window on Wednesday, acquiring defender Guram Kashia using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).
A captain for both club and country, Kashia is a Georgia international who joins the Quakes from Dutch Eredivisie side Vitesse Arnhem. The 30-year-old center back will be eligible to play for San Jose after the MLS Secondary Transfer Window opens on July 10, pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P-1 Visa.
He’s also been a teammate of Quakes’ Designated Player Vako with both Vitesse and the Georgia national team.
“To reinforce select positions during the upcoming transfer windows, we began by identifying someone that fit the criteria we were looking for in a high-quality central defender and this was Guram,” said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli in a club release. “In addition to his extensive experience, he is a leader both on and off the field and we’re confident he will be an important addition to our squad.”
Kashia has played for Vitesse since August 2010, making 293 total appearances for the Dutch side across all competitions, tallying 25 goals and 18 assists.
Last season he started 32 of their 34 matches – many of them alongside US national teamer and former New York Red Bull Matt Miazga – tallying three goals and an assist while leading the club to a 13-11-10 record, a sixth-place league finish and +16 goal-differential, as well as a KNVB Cup title and a spot in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
A product of the academy at his hometown club FC Dinimo Tbilisi, Kashia was named the Georgian Footballer of the Year in 2012 and 2013 and holds 64 international caps, including 19 World Cup qualifiers.
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