Returning reserve crew Chris Cadden returns to Scotland.
Cadden, 24, was sold to Hibernian FC in the Scottish Premiership after a season in Major League Soccer. He played sparingly in his only season at Columbus, registering an assist in just eight appearances with three regular season starts. He only played four minutes in Crew’s race to win the MLS Cup.
The crew did not disclose the transfer fee paid by Hibernian for Cadden.
“We would like to thank Chris for the time he has spent with Columbus Crew SC as he enters the next chapter of his career,” Crew President and CEO Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “We appreciate Chris’s contributions and professionalism at the club as we race for the 2020 MLS Cup Championship and wish him the best for the future.”
Cadden was initially considered the heir apparent to Harrison Afful, who turns 35 in July and has just completed his sixth year with the Crew. However, Cadden was left out of the day’s roster during the season, a potential sign that he was not in Coach Caleb Porter’s future plans.
The crew acquired Cadden during a free transfer from his home club Motherwell to the Scottish Premier Division in July 2019. He spent half a season on loan with League One club Oxford United in England where he had success and became a starter, before joining the Crew before the start of the 2020 season.
Oxford United offered to buy Cadden when their loan ended, but the Crew declined the offer.
Cadden has been linked with a move to Hibernian since early January, according to News from Edinburgh in Scotland, but for some reason the deal had been delayed for weeks.
Since Cadden joined the crew on a free transfer from Motherwell and was loaned to Oxford United, the Scottish club had requested crew training compensation in accordance with FIFA regulations after MLS began recognizing the training compensation rule earlier in 2019.
Motherwell argued he was entitled to $ 350,000 in compensation because the club believes MLS clubs meet FIFA’s Level 1 definition for training compensation. However, the signing took place before MLS was given a tier, thereby defaulting the crew to the lowest tier and less compensation to be paid to Motherwell.
Now that he’s back in Scotland, the Crew will start looking for more depth behind Afful. Cadden’s departure also opens up a window for the crew to add an international player.
The crew has 25 of the 30 places on the list filled for the 2021 season.
@_jcmyers
