Richie Ledezma, who spent a significant portion of the last season in MLS with New York City FC, may soon return to North America as interest from several clubs intensifies. LAFC, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, and the San Jose Earthquakes are among the teams vying to acquire the American midfielder, a source close to Ledezma confirmed to SBI. Ledezma, who is in the final year of his contract with PSV, is attracting attention from multiple MLS sides, with RSL holding his MLS rights due to his previous involvement with the Real Monarchs during the 2018 USL season. If Ledezma moves to another MLS club this summer, RSL stands to receive a transfer fee.
However, Ledezma cannot make an official switch to MLS until July 18 when the Secondary Transfer Window opens. Despite this, the 23-year-old made a notable impact during his loan spell at NYCFC last season, featuring in 23 matches, including 14 starts, and providing five assists in 1,189 minutes of play. This opportunity came after a prolonged period of limited action at PSV.
A former U.S. youth national team standout, Ledezma joined PSV in 2019 and made his first-team debut in November 2020. He also earned his debut for the U.S. men’s national team the same month, contributing two assists in a friendly against Panama. However, Ledezma’s progress has been hampered by injuries, including multiple ACL tears that sidelined him for most of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Despite these setbacks, Ledezma remains a promising talent, albeit with limited first-team appearances for PSV.
PSV’s successful Eredivisie title win, with just one defeat in 34 league matches, featured several American players, including Sergino Dest, Malik Tillman, and Ricardo Pepi, further highlighting Ledezma’s potential impact if he were to return to MLS.