The San Jose Earthquakes made a move to bolster their offense while trading away a long-time member of their defense.
Portland Timbers traded forward Jeremey Ebobisse for $1.167 million in general allocation money to San Jose. It’s a handsome payout for the Timbers for the 24-year-old who has been playing for the team out wide. He is expected to join the Quakes and slot in as the starting forward up top.
“I think the Earthquakes and the project that they’ve been building, especially since Matias [Almeyda] has been at the helm, is something that’s been really exciting to watch from afar,” said Ebobisse in a statement. “…It’s an exciting project, in which there’s a lot of faith in me to score a lot of goals. Ultimately, I want to help the team in every way possible.”
Ebobisse has scored twenty-six goals and added eight assists in eighty-eight appearances (fifty-four starts) for the Timbers, who drafted him out of college from Duke University.
“He’s a player that we have been eyeing for a while now,” said Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda. “When this opportunity came up, with support from our ownership group, we’re adding a young player who we believe will be important for our project.”
Born in Paris, France, Ebobisse moved to the USA when he was two years old and has played for the US Men’s National Team’s U-20 and U-23 sides, and once for the senior team in January 2019.
He scored goals for the Timbers, netting eleven in 2019, eight in the COVID-19 shortened season in 2020, and four in thirteen appearances.
“Jeremy is an exciting young player with significant MLS experience and a proven track record for scoring goals,” said Earthquakes Technical Director Chris Leitch. “We think he’ll be a great leader for our team and a great ambassador for our community.”
The team also announced that they had signed the striker to a contract through the 2024 season.
After outlaying over a million dollars to bring in Ebobisse, the next day, the Quakes announced the sale of long-time defender Florian Jungwirth to the Vancouver Whitecaps for $200,000 in general allocation money. If certain performance-based incentives are met, the Quakes could receive an additional $100,000 in allocation money in 2022.
Jungwirth had played 124 games for the Earthquakes since 2017 and netted five goals to go along with ten assists. He was named the team’s Defensive Player of the year in 2017 and 2019.
“I want to say thank you to Florian for everything he has contributed to our club over the past four and a half seasons,” said Earthquakes Technical Director Chris Leitch. “This is a good opportunity for Florian personally as well as freeing up important cap space for our club moving forward. We wish him and his family the best of luck.”
