The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) announced today that defender Walker Zimmerman will join the club from FC Dallas in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money and $250,000 in Targeted Allocation Money. LAFC also sends the #1 Allocation Ranking to Dallas and receives the #11 spot.
“Adding a physical and athletic defender was essential for us,” LAFC General Manager and Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations John Thorrington said. “Walker has an incredibly bright future and brings impressive MLS experience to Los Angeles. We’re excited to be a part of his continued development on and off the field.”
Zimmerman, 24, was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (7th overall) of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft and has appeared in 89 career regular season matches (71 starts), recording seven goals and one assist over five seasons.
“Walker is a talented young defender who will play an important role in our team,” LAFC head coach Bob Bradley said. “He’s a strong defender and a good passer out of the back. I love his mentality and want to see him develop into a real leader.”
The 6-foot-3, 192-pound center back helped FC Dallas to the 2016 Supporters’ Shield and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, starting all 30 matches, scoring four goals and playing a team-high 2,700 minutes. In his first three MLS campaigns, Zimmerman started just 23 games combined before his break-out 2016 season. He appeared in 22 games in 2017 despite missing time with a right knee injury.
“There is something special about being a part of this project from season one,” Zimmerman said. “I look forward to helping create a winning culture at LAFC and setting high expectations within our locker room. I can’t wait to represent the Black and Gold and compete every day for the city of Los Angeles.”
A Lawrenceville, GA native, Zimmerman played in six career MLS Cup Playoff Games and cemented his place in FC Dallas history when he scored the series-winning penalty kick over Seattle in the 2015 Western Conference Semifinals.
Internationally, Zimmerman has made one appearance for the U.S. National Team, starting and earning ‘Man of the Match’ honors in a 1-0 win over Jamaica on Feb. 3, 2017. At the youth level, he captained the U.S. Under-18 National Team at the 2011 Milk Cup in Northern Ireland and was named the 2010 U.S. U-18 Team MVP at the Tel Aviv, Israel Tournament.
A star in his two seasons at Furman University, Zimmerman was named to the All-Southern Conference first-team in 2011 and 2012.
The allocation process is the mechanism used to determine which MLS Club has the first priority to acquire a player listed on the Allocation Ranking List. The list consists of select U.S. Men’s National Team players, elite youth U.S. National Team players and former MLS players returning to MLS after joining a non-MLS club for a transfer fee greater than $500,000.
Transaction: Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) acquires defender Walker Zimmerman from FC Dallas in exchange for $250,000 in General Allocation Money and $250,000 in Targeted Allocation Money. LAFC also sends the #1 Allocation Ranking to Dallas and receives the #11 spot.
