The Colorado Rapids have filled the hole Chidozie Awaziem left behind last month.
The club has signed center back Rob Holding from Premier League club Crystal Palace, the team announced on Sunday. The deal is a free transfer and will last through the end of the 2026 season.
Holding, 29, has spent the majority of his career at EPL giant Arsenal, which, like the Rapids, is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. His best season was the 2020-21 campaign, when he made 30 appearances for more than 2,500 minutes. Outside of that season, he has not surpassed 1,000 minutes in a single campaign in the Premier League.
Holding had a conflict with Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner last year, according to the BBC. In September, Glasner said Holding was “training individually” while playing matches with the club’s U-21 team in Premier League 2. He was loaned to Championship side Sheffield United for the latter half of the 2024-25 season.
“We will talk together — he knows the reason. But it is something that stays between Rob and me. Nothing public,” Glasner said at the time.
In a brief statement, Crystal Palace announced Holding “left the club” last week.
He is now in Colorado, but cannot train with the team until he receives a work visa, which can be a lengthy process. In 2023, when forward Rafael Navarro was signed in July, he had to wait more than a month to debut while his visa application was processed.
The move is a good supplement for the loss of Awaziem, the Rapids’ best defender. He made a sudden move to his former club FC Nantes in France last month.
The Rapids also signed a young center back in Noah Cobb on loan from Atlanta United last week.
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