Minnesota United are negotiating the moves of two players to St. Louis City, the Pioneer Press confirmed Sunday.
GiveMeSport said winger/wingback Sang Bin Jeong is expected to leave on a permanent move to St. Louis, in exchange for an undisclosed amount of cash, while defender Devin Padelford will head out to the Western Conference foe on a loan.
A source emphasized to the Pioneer Press emphasized that the deals were not final.
Neither player were on the 20-man team for MNUFC’s 4-1 win over San Jose at Allianz Field on Saturday and this move appears to be groundwork transactions heading into the summer transfer window, which opens July 24.
Jeong, a 23-year-old South Korean who recently acquired his U.S. Green Card, has struggled in front of goal this season. He hasn’t gotten on the scoresheet in 319 MLS minutes this year; he started but was mostly ineffectual in 45 minutes during the Loons’ 3-1 win over Chicago in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Jeong was linked in a move to Malmo, but reports had the Swedish club declining United’s $2 million transfer fee. The fast winger also drew interest from at least one MLS club in the Eastern Conference earlier this year.
In his first season after a transfer from Grasshopper in Switzerland in 2023, Jeong had two goal contributions (one goal, one assist) in 962 minutes for Minnesota. He more productive in 2024 with six goals and one assist in 2,171 minutes last season.
Jeong has bounced between wingback and his preferred position of forward during his last two years in Minnesota and that factored into his inconsistency.
Padelford, a homegrown player from Maplewood, has struggled to crack the first team this year.
The 22-year-old received 1,589 minutes a year ago, but in a switch from left wingback to center back, he has found himself buried on the depth chart in 2025 and has played only 105 minutes across four matches this season.
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