Incoming MLS expansion team Nashville SC has agreed to a deal with Danish club Brondby for German midfielder Hany Mukhtar, sources have told The Athletic.
Nashville will pay Brondby a $3 million transfer fee for Mukhtar, who will officially move to the club once the MLS transfer window reopens in January. The news was first reported by Danish outlet BT. He is expected to count as a designated player in MLS. Nashville paid allocation money to another MLS club in exchange for the discovery rights to Mukhtar.
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Mukhtar, a 24-year-old attacking midfielder, has spent the last three seasons with Brondby. He recorded seven goals and six assists in 29 Danish Superliga appearances last season, but he hasn’t played in any of the club’s 13 Superliga or Europa League matches this season primarily due to a foot injury. He was excused from their last match while he finalized his deal with Nashville. Mukhtar has 22 goals and 27 assists in 94 career league matches for Brondby.
A product of the Hertha Berlin youth system, Mukhtar turned pro in 2012, but only made 17 first-team appearances before he was sold to Benfica in September 2015. He spent the bulk of the 2015-16 season on loan to Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg, then was loaned to Brondby for the 2016-17 campaign. Brondby exercised their option to permanently acquire Mukhtar in April 2017.
A former German youth international, Mukhtar scored the winning goal in the 2014 Under-19 European Championship final, and was a part of Germany’s squad at the 2015 U-20 World Cup.
Nashville currently has five players under contract for the 2020 MLS season: winger David Accam, who will join from Columbus at the end of this year, midfielder Anibal Godoy, who will join from San Jose after the season, plus Derrick Jones, Cameron Lancaster and Daniel Rios. The latter trio are all with Nashville’s USL Championship team, which is currently in third place in the Eastern Conference.
Paul Tenorio also contributed to this report.
(Photo: Jan Christensen / FrontzoneSport via Getty Images)