New York City FC ship RJ Allen to Orlando City

New York City FC right back RJ Allen has been traded to Orlando City, the team announced Monday. In exchange for Allen, NYCFC will receive Orlando’s third-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.

Following a slow start to their inaugural season, New York City signed Allen in May of 2015. While his minutes were inconsistently allocated under manager Jason Kreis, Allen found consistent playing time under new manager Patrick Vieira in 2016, becoming the club’s first-team right back.

Despite signing a contract extension with City after the 2016 season, Allen struggled to find his groove in 2017, losing out to Ethan White and later Andraz Struna for first-team playing time.

In three seasons with the Boys in Blue, Allen made 53 appearances, collecting 11 assists and one goal and making what is arguably one of the best passes in NYCFC’s three-year history:

Hudson River Blue wish RJ nothing but the best and thank him for his contributions to the Bronx Blues since year one. Godspeed, sir!