LAFC select midfielder Calum Mallace in Re-Entry Draft

Los Angeles Football Club were active on the roster front on Thursday, as they selected midfielder Calum Mallace in the second phase of the Re-Entry Draft.

Mallace, 27, is a Scotland-born American. After playing collegiately at Marquette University, he was drafted with the first pick of the second round in 2012 by the Montreal Impact. Mallace played for the Impact from 2012-17, with a loan stint with the then-NASL side Minnesota United in 2013. In August 2017, Mallace was traded by the Impact to the Seattle Sounders, where he never played a game for the first team on their run to the MLS Cup final.

Overall, Mallace has been a career backup, making 80 total appearances in MLS regular season play for the Impact. His most regular stint came in 2015, when he made 26 appearances and played more than 1,800 minutes for Montreal in MLS play. He seems like the kind of player coaches like for depth, someone who pushes teammates in training, but to this point in his career the central midfielder has been a gameday 18 option more than a consistent starting XI option.

As for the terms of the Re-Entry Draft, since Mallace was selected in the second phase, the out-of-contract player can have his next contract renegotiated, something that is preferred for the teams. Mallace made $131,250 in 2017, per the MLS Players Union figures, and while that is not an exorbitant amount, if he ultimately signs with LAFC, it will most likely be for less money than that, and finding a depth option in his prime years at a cheaper price should be a good deal overall. There’s still that additional step for him to take to fully become a member of LAFC, but considering that’s likely to happen in the coming days, LAFC’s inaugural roster will have more MLS experience before long.

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