Danny Leyva loaned to Rapids for 2023

UPDATE: The move was made official on Tuesday. Previously unreported about the loan was the Sounders receiving a third-round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft and $92,000 in 2023 General Allocation Money. It was also revealed that either team can call off the loan during the summer transfer window.

Danny Leyva has been loaned to the Colorado Rapids for the rest of 2023, Sounder at Heart has learned. The move comes on the final day of the MLS primary transfer window and appears to be the only move the Sounders will make until at least after the summer window opens on July 5.

It was not immediately clear if the Sounders would be receiving any sort of compensation, but a permanent move to the Rapids seems unlikely. The United States youth international is valued at about $2.5 million by Transfermarkt and the Sounders aren’t under any pressure to let him go for much less after they signed Leyva to a five-year contract this last offseason.

For all his promise, though, Leyva has been stuck in a bit of a logjam behind fellow youngsters Josh Atencio and Obed Vargas. Leyva has made just three first-team appearances and logged just 21 minutes this year. He’s made another two starts for 151 minutes with Tacoma Defiance.

A year ago, Leyva set career highs with 951 minutes and 19 appearances with the first team. Combined with his time with Defiance, he’s now logged over 5,000 professional minutes since first signing in 2018 as a 15-year-old.

In Colorado, Leyva will be reunited with former Defiance head coach Chris Little, who is a Rapids assistant.

*This story was originally published on April 24.