Galaxy will announce Tuesday they’ve signed Aleksandar Katai
The Galaxy is set to announce Tuesday that they’ve signed Aleksandar Katai, a Serbian winger who spent the last two seasons with the Chicago Fire.
Katai, 28, appeared in 62 games with the Fire, scoring 18 times and handing out 12 assists. Chicago, which paid Katai $1.38 million in 2019, declined his contract option last month. Details of his deal with the Galaxy have not been released.
Before coming to MLS in 2018, Katai played in Serbia, Greece and Spain, as well as with the Serbian national team.
The Galaxy also is close to a deal with Argentine left back Emiliano Insúa and is in advanced negotiations with Peruvian center back Carlos Zambrano.
Insúa, who will turn 31 next week, was in the youth program of Argentine club Boca Juniors when Galaxy coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto played there. Insúa, who has played for Liverpool, Galatasaray and two clubs in Spain, was most recently with Stuttgart of the German second division.
Coach Gregg Berhalter has called up 25 players to begin training with the U.S. men’s national team in Doha, Qatar.
Zambrano, 30, is a physical defender who also was targeted by the Seattle Sounders. He has 51 caps with the Peruvian national team and is currently with Ukrainian team Dynamo Kyiv, although he has not played regularly.
The additions of Insúa and Zambrano are being counted on to help strengthen a defense that gave up 59 goals last season. Katai will try to fill the hole created by the loss of speedy wingers Uriel Antuna and Favio Álvarez, both of whom are playing in Mexico.
Antuna’s six goals in 2019 were second on the team behind the 30 of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who also has departed.
The addition of Katai, when it is announced, will be the second significant acquisition of the winter for the Galaxy, which signed veteran midfielder Sacha Kljestan earlier this month. It might also mean the team has moved on from midfielder Romain Alessandrini, who made $1.94 million as a designated player last season when he was limited by injuries to just five appearances.
