Marko Ilić Permanent Transfer Confirmed

COMMERCE CITY – The Colorado Rapids have finally had a loan player with an option to buy and then bought that player. The club confirmed a Marko Ilić permanent transfer from K.V. Kortrijk Saturday morning. This was done after the original purchase option expired. The 25-year-old Serbian International has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal through 2025. There are club options for 2026 and 2027.

“We’re pleased to bring Marko to the club on a permanent basis,” said Colorado Rapids President Pádraig Smith. “Marko is just entering his prime and has demonstrated the athleticism, shot-stopping abilities and technical quality we first identified when we brought him on loan, so we’re delighted to secure his future with the club.”

Ilić joins the Rapids long term having played in three MLS games and all three Open Cup matches. He’s looked fine in those games. His three MLS starts were a 2-0 loss at Orlando where the Rapids had two red cards, a scoreless draw against San Jose, and a 3-2 loss at Columbus. None of the five goals he has given up (nor the four in Open Cup) were really his fault.

From the eye test, supporters would be valid in saying he has not looks noticeably different or better than William Yarbrough. That said, the organization still sees potential in Ilić and believes he can progress into an excellent MLS goalkeeper. Yarbrough is in the final guaranteed year of his contract with a team option for 2024. Colorado will have a decision to make this offseason about the position. The competition between them should continue for the rest of this season.

Internally, the organization is still very high on the Serbian’s potential and believe Chris Sharpe can develop him into achieving that potential.

Ilić did tell Burgundy Wave back in April that there were some issues when he was in Belgium and felt a permanent move to MLS would be good for him on and off the field. He would not elaborate.

“He needed to make sure that his family was ok with it. That was the difficult thing for him, making sure that his partner could be over here with him as well. We’re thrilled,” Smith told Burgundy Wave.

There is precedent for this MLS, as we’ve seen recently with Olivier Mbaizo and Philadelphia Union.

“It’s incredible competition for us. It’s great from our perspective, the need for the roster to have competition at every position and ultimately for our 11-v-11 games (in training) to be like MLS games. With Marko and Will, you’re putting yourself in that position.”

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken.

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