St. Louis CITY SC has strengthened its defense by signing fullback Tomas Totland from Swedish top-flight team BK Häcken, the club announced Thursday.
The former Norwegian youth international, 24, will be with the team through the 2026 MLS season, with a club option for 2027.
“We are very excited to bring Tomas to St. Louis after receiving a lot of interest from European and MLS teams,” said sports director Lutz Pfannenstiel in a press statement.
“He brings high-level experience to our team, having played in both the Champions League and the Europa League this season.” In addition to his experience, he is well-rounded in both the offensive and defensive phases.”
Totland has spent his whole professional career in Scandinavia, accumulating 14g/19a in 180 games across all leagues. This stretch includes 11 Europa League and Champions League games, as well as the Allsvenskan title in 2022.
Totland joins a defense led by reigning Allstate MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Roman Bürki and center defender Tim Parker, both of whom were named to the 2023 MLS Best XI presented by Continental Tire. Totland, mostly a right back who can also move up the line, is expected to battle for playing time with incumbent starter Jake Nerwinski.
St. Louis CITY hopes to capitalize on their record-breaking expansion season, in which they claimed the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and outperformed all expectations. However, their Audi MLS Cup Playoffs debut was cut short when they were swept by Midwest rival Sporting Kansas City in Round One.
In 2024, head coach Bradley Carnell’s club will play Houston Dynamo FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup on Feb. 20.
