:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58497393/655563832.jpg.0.jpg)
Because it wouldn’t be a Monday without something unplanned and announced through unofficial channels, we got our little daily news piece today when Maddie Lee of the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Real Salt Lake is signing goalkeeper Alex Horwath.
Goalkeeper Alex Horwath has signed with RSL, per league sources. The birth of his kid has delayed his arrival at preseason camp.
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) January 29, 2018
Horwath, 30, isn’t new to Major League Soccer: He played one match in 2011 at New York Red Bulls, when Mike Petke was the team’s assistant coach. But like most young goalkeepers, he didn’t really get minutes in the league, and he ended up becoming a bit of a journeyman on his way to minutes.
In 2012, Horwath played with Wilmington Hammerheads; in 2013, for a Tampa Bay USL side. In 2014, he went abroad, playing for Swedish second-division side Ljungskile SK, and in 2015 — until now — he played for SK Brann, a Norwegian first-division side, although they were second-division in 2015.
Horwath’s arrival shouldn’t disrupt RSL’s planning much, if at all. He’s been a second-string goalkeeper for long swathes of his career, and one would imagine that will continue here. The real battle to watch, I suspect, will be between Horwath and RSL’s young Connor Sparrow, who one might imagine is in the third-choice spot right now.