Perry Kitchen lasted less than two years in Europe, returning to MLS on Tuesday by signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy. To acquire the defensive midfielder’s league rights, the Galaxy completed a trade with Kitchen’s previous MLS team, D.C. United, by relinquishing $300,000 in allocation money ($200,000 targeted, $100,000 general).

Although Kitchen was a free agent when he departed after the 2015 season, MLS rules allow the most recent team to maintain his rights if it had made an offer to re-sign him.

Kitchen, who turns 26 next month, played five years for United, starting 155 league matches. In March 2016, after several months seeking a club overseas, he signed a 2 1/2-year contract with Scottish club Hearts. Within six months, he was named captain. A managerial change, however, left him out of favor. Last summer, he moved to Danish club Randers, where he started 17 league matches and played all but 11 minutes.

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At the winter break, Randers is last in the 14-team league with 14 points from 19 matches.

“I wasn’t planning on coming to MLS, but the opportunity presented itself, and after speaking to my wife, it was something that we wanted to pursue,” Kitchen told the Galaxy’s website. “It’s coming back to familiar surroundings, winning football matches and just enjoying football. It was a good opportunity that I couldn’t pass up, and that was definitely a driving force behind the decision.”

United could have kept his rights and tried to re-sign him, but all parties had moved on. This offseason, D.C. acquired two central midfielders: Costa Rica’s Ulises Segura and Venezuela’s Junior Moreno. United also has Russell Canouse, Ian Harkes, Chris Durkin and Jared Jeffrey.

D.C. and L.A. agreed to terms of the trade, pending the Galaxy’s ability to free Kitchen from his Randers contract. Details were not disclosed.

Last summer, United sent $500,000 in allocation money to the Galaxy for the rights to Paul Arriola, a U.S. national team winger who had briefly been part of L.A.’s youth academy before moving to Mexican club Tijuana.

Kitchen will join a Galaxy side that finished last in the overall standings last season, tied with United on points but with fewer victories (first tiebreaker).

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