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Real Salt Lake loan promising forward to Sweden

By Kristian Dyer

Real Salt Lake starting lineup react prior to the game during the 16 match of the MLS is Back Tournament between San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on July 27, 2020 in Reunion, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images)
Real Salt Lake starting lineup react prior to the game during the 16 match of the MLS is Back Tournament between San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex on July 27, 2020 in Reunion, Florida. (Photo by Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images) /
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Real Salt Lake youngster gets European loan

In search of playing time, Real Salt Lake has loaned Chris Garcia to Swedish Superettan side Ljungskile FC. The Suprettan is in the second division.

Garcia, an 18-year old forward, came up through the club’s academy and was signed to a contract last year. He has made three appearances in the USL for the club as well as one MLS appearance.

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“Growth and development is an important part of our structure and this is a great opportunity for Chris to develop and mature,” Real Salt Lake Technical Director Kurt Schmid said in a statement released by the club. “We have seen success with this model with Andrew Brody and Pablo Ruiz in Austria and plan to continue to leverage our relationships with clubs abroad to provide our players with these opportunities.”

The loan will ideally bring valuable playing time for Garcia, who was a prolific scorer at the academy level for Real Salt Lake but hasn’t found many minutes yet in his still early MLS career.

Garcia has played in one match in his two years in MLS, playing a minute off the bench last September in a 2-1 loss against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

In this current season, Real Salt Lake is 5-6-6 (21 points) and tied for eighth place in the Western Conference along with a suddenly surging FC Dallas and the San Jose Earthquakes. They are two points behind both Los Angeles FC and the Portland Timbers for a playoff berth.

Real Salt Lake do have some intriguing pieces, although they’ve struggled this year with their form. One piece that certainly has been a positive for the club and a major reason why they are in playoff contention is Damir Kreilach, who has eight goals and five assists in 17 matches (16 starts). The 32-year old midfielder was recently named an MLS All-Star.

Ljungskile FC finished in 16th place in the Superettan last year.

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