COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — The Colorado Rapids have reached an agreement with English Premier League side Arsenal FC for the transfer of defender Auston Trusty, the club announced today. Trusty will remain with the Rapids on loan before departing for Europe on July 17.
“Auston is coming off an exceptional season in 2021 in which he played a vital role in helping us finish atop the Western Conference for the first time in our history,” said Pádraig Smith, Colorado Rapids Executive VP & General Manager. “We remain committed to bringing through the top young players from Colorado and across the United States and to providing them with a platform to flourish, achieve success in MLS and earn the chance to make a move to Europe. Auston’s outstanding performances caught the eye of several European clubs over the past 12 months and we are privileged to be part of an organization with the reach and scale of KSE that allows us to help a player of Auston’s potential further his development and career aspirations in Europe.”
Trusty, 23, was a mainstay on the Rapids back line in his second season in Colorado. The six-foot-three center back led all Rapids outfield players in 2021 with 2,970 minutes across 33 matches during the regular season, as well as playing all 90 minutes in the club’s Western Conference Semifinal in the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs. He scored one goal and added three assists in 2021 and was named the Rapids' Defender of the Year. Following the 2021 campaign, Trusty was called into the U.S. Men’s National Team’s January training camp in Arizona ahead of their upcoming FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches.
A native of Media, Pennsylvania, Trusty originally joined the Rapids in November 2019 via trade from Philadelphia Union where he spent four seasons after signing a Homegrown Player contract in 2016. Trusty made his MLS debut in 2018, and at 20 years old, became the youngest player in league history to play every minute across a full 34-game season that year.
Trusty becomes the third Rapids player to transfer to a European club over the past year, after Sam Vines completed a move to Royal Antwerp FC in the Belgian first division in August and Cole Bassett joined Feyenoord Rotterdam in the Dutch Eredivisie on loan earlier this month.
TRANSACTION: Colorado Rapids transfer defender Auston Trusty to Arsenal FC and re-acquire him on a six-month loan on January 31, 2022.
