According to a report by The Equalizer, the Utah Royals are trading seven-time NWSL Best XI selection and USWNT star Becky Sauerbrunn to the Portland Thorns for allocation money and an unknown player.
The amount of allocation money is currently unknown and the player will be named once the trade is made official.
Sauerbrunn has spent the last two seasons in Utah after starting her NWSL career in Kansas City. She helped FC Kansas City win back-to-back NWSL titles in 2014 and 2015 and was recently named to a record seventh league Best XI squad. She was also chosen as the 2019 NWSL Defender of the Year, her fourth time receiving the honor.
Sauerbrunn is also a decorated star for the USWNT, tallying 174 appearances and winning two Women’s World Cups (2015, 2019) and an Olympic gold medal in 2012.
While the star power and defensive presence will be missed by the Royals, a more available player could give the team the lineup and consistent chemistry to reach the playoffs. Sauerbrunn played just 14 of 24 games last season due to the World Cup and is expected to miss a large part of the upcoming campaign while playing for the U.S. in the Olympics and the ensuing Victory Tour matches that would follow should the U.S. win gold.
It also gives the Royals a bit of freedom to spend money on a younger player while the player received in the trade will also presumably be younger than Sauerbrunn, who turns 36 in June.
On the part of the Thorns, the acquisition gives them a strong defensive presence for a team that struggled at times on that side of the ball in 2019. The team allowed 31 goals, the third most in the league.
