USMNT defender Shaq Moore has opted to take the next step of his career in the US, having joined MLS club Nashville SC on a permanent transfer following close to eight years in Spain.
Moore’s move away from Tenerife was confirmed by both teams after rumors had surfaced linking him to a move stateside, with Nashville stating that his contract runs through the 2025 season, with an option for the following year.
No fee was announced by either club, however reports have indicated that the MLS club paid a total of $2 million to Tenerife for his services, in addition to $50,000 of General Allocation Money to CF Montreal to obtain priority rights to make the signing under league rules.
At Nashville, he will join fellow USMNT defender Walker Zimmerman, and will likely slot immediately into the right back position in place of former USA youth international Eric Miller.
Moore moved to Spain in 2014 where he spent several years in the youth setup of various teams, and most of his time as a first-team professional during the last few seasons in the second-tier LaLiga2 division. After joining Tenerife prior to the 2019-20 season, he went on to play a total of 95 league games over three seasons.
He did struggle for starts in the most recent season after the arrival of Frenchman Jeremy Mellot initially pushed him onto the bench, however he regained his spot at right back down the stretch, and helped the team come within one game of attaining promotion to La Liga in the post-season play-off.
Nashville is currently fifth place in the MLS Western Conference, having already played 21 of their 38 games in the current season, and is competing for one of the division’s seven places in the post-season MLS Cup playoffs.
The move comes four months ahead of the kickoff for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and should give Moore a solid run of games in the lead-up to the final September friendly games, which will likely be the last chance to gain USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter’s favor prior to the selection of the preliminary roster.
More importantly, the move will earn Moore a much-coveted spot in YA’s weekly examination of MLS-based USMNT players.
Pending the arrival of his International Transfer Certificate, Moore could already make his debut on Sunday when Nashville visits FC Cincinnati.
