Bakary Soumare has gotten his wish.
One day after publicly announcing that he’d requested a trade from the Montreal Impact, the 29-year-old defender was shipped to FC Dallas in exchange for Canadian international midfielder Kyle Bekker. Both players were in their first seasons with their respective clubs, with Soumare appearing in 16 of the Impact’s 24 games across all competitions in 2015 and Bekker – a member of Canada’s Gold Cup roster – making eight appearances for FCD.
“Bakary had asked us to be traded because he was not happy with his playing time. I accepted his request and I am happy that we could find a quick solution which is also positive for the club," Impact head coach and director of player personnel Frank Klopas said in a statement.
Soumare joined the Impact this offseason after being selected by the club from the Chicago Fire in the MLS Re-Entry Draft. He started eight of Montreal’s first nine MLS contests and all six of their CONCACAF Champions League matches this year, but has only played in three games since May 30. The Malian international is now in his seventh season in MLS, having spent two-and-a-half years with Chicago before moving to France in the summer of 2009, returning to the league in 2012 with Philadelphia and re-joining the Fire in 2013.
Selected with the third overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, Bekker spent the first two seasons of his career with Toronto FC. The Ontario native played 29 MLS games with TFC before being traded to FC Dallas this offseason. The 24-year-old made one appearance for Canada during their unsuccessful Gold Cup run, starting and playing 86 minutes in Les Rouges’ opening game draw against El Salvador.
"We are happy to bring a young Canadian player to our team who has a lot of potential. We look forward to having him integrate with our group," Impact technical director Adam Braz said in the club’s statement. "We thank Bakary for his services and wish him all the best with his new club."
