The New York Red Bulls have agreed to sell homegrown wing-back John Tolkin to Bundesliga side Holstein Kiel, sources tell The Athletic, for an initial $3 million (€2.9m) fee. The MLS club will retain a sell-on percentage of any future transfer involving Tolkin.
GiveMeSport first reported the transfer on Wednesday. The Red Bulls and Kiel declined to comment when contacted.
Tolkin, 22, exits his boyhood club after a transformative 2024 for player and team alike. The left-back continued his role as a high work rate defender under new head coach Sandro Schwarz, who previously managed Hertha Berlin from 2022 to 2023. The Red Bulls took to Schwarz’s change in approach, making the club’s first trip to the MLS Cup playoffs since 2008 while extending their record streak of postseason appearances to 15 seasons.
Tolkin also represented the United States at the 2024 Olympics, starting all four games and logging 350 minutes as the U-23s reached the quarterfinal stage. Naturally left-footed, he can operate as either a left-back in a back-four or a wing-back.
Kiel will be acquiring a left-back who plays with a chip on his shoulder, approaching all phases of the game with a high work rate. Tolkin was also the Red Bulls’ left-footed set-piece specialist, creating 39 of his 62 chances from dead ball situations.
Holstein Kiel is 17th in the Bundesliga standings, three points behind Hoffenheim for the final place above the drop zone. Last season, Kiel earned promotion to Germany’s first division for the first time since 1963. Marcel Rapp prefers operating with a left wing-back, a role which Tolkin predominantly played after Schwarz’s arrival last winter.
(Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
