Minnesota United acquired defender Jukka Raitala from CF Montreal on Thursday in exchange for the rights of midfielder Andrew Booth.
Raitala, of Finland, will hold an international slot with Minnesota.
“We are adding an incredibly valuable player,” Minnesota coach Adrian Heath said in a statement. “Jukka is someone who understands our league and has some impressive national team experience with Finland — where he is of course teammates at the national level with (midfielder) Robin Lod. So we know what to expect from him from day one here in Minnesota.
“He’s an experienced defender who will continue to uplift our roster and provide competition at our fullback spot. I’ve always said the best thing for players is competition and we have no doubt he will come here expecting to play and elevate our club and community.”
Raitala, 32, began his MLS career in 2017 by playing in 28 games with Columbus Crew SC before spending the last three seasons with the then-Montreal Impact. He started 63 of the 69 matches in which he appeared with Montreal, including all 15 in 2020.
Raitala has one goal and four assists in 97 career MLS appearances with the Crew and Impact.
Booth, a 2020 SuperDraft selection, played collegiately at Florida International. The 23-year-old midfielder/defender had three goals and five assists in 51 matches from 2016-19.
–Field Level Media
