D.C. United has struck a deal to re-sign Bill Hamid on loan, less than a year after the goalkeeper left to sign for Danish side Midtjylland.
Hamid, the 2014 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, will sign on loan through the end of the 2019 season, D.C.United said.
With his MLS contract expiring after last season, Hamid opted to test himself in Europe and said he joined Midtjylland over an offer from Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt because he had an opportunity to start.
But that promise never materialized and Hamid only made three appearances while backing up Jesper Hansen.
The 27-year-old will now return to D.C., where he is likely to be preferred over David Ousted, who had been the starter, and veteran backup Steve Clark.
“Bill moved to FC Midtjylland at the end of last year and it was an important step in his personal and professional development,” D.C. general manager Dave Kasper said. “He’s a leader on and off the field and we’re excited to welcome him back to the club he worked tirelessly for over eight seasons.”
Welcome home, Bill. #TCHUB | #DCU pic.twitter.com/7EZeGsWVG3
— D.C. United (@dcunited) August 8, 2018
A year ago, Hamid had been a strong candidate to become the next regular goalkeeper for the United States, with Tim Howard, Brad Guzan and Nick Rimando approaching the end of their careers. He has started five games for the U.S., most recently in a friendly in Ireland in June.
Earlier on Wednesday, D.C. United signed Lithuanian left-back Vytautas Andriuskevicius, known as Vytas, from the Portland Timbers, who will pay half of his salary and receive $50,000 in targeted allocation money.
D.C. United is in the midst of a marketing resurgence after opening their new Audi Field and signing former Manchester United star Wayne Rooney last month.
The club revealed changes to its investment group this week, with CEO Jason Levien remaining in control of the team after his earlier purchase from Erick Thohir, who has now divested the last of his shares.
Levien is teaming with Steve Kaplan — his fellow majority shareholder in Swansea City — as well as new investors Al Tylis, Ed Shapiro, Robert Hernreich, Romie Chaudhari and Dan Gilbert.
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