ST. PAUL -- Kemar Lawrence has joined Minnesota United for the tail end of its preseason work in Florida this week, a club spokesman told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday.
While the club continues to wait on Emanuel Reynoso — the star midfielder staying in Argentina for “personal issues” — the return of Lawrence is an encouraging development for the club and its left fullback position going into the 2023 season.
Loons manager Adrian Heath said Monday that Lawrence was in his native Jamaica for “family issues” but was expected to arrive imminently. Lawrence, 30, ended up being truant for the opening three weeks of preseason work in January.
Lawrence had somewhat similar circumstances last year. He was away from Toronto FC’s camp until he was traded to MNUFC for $50,000 in General Allocation Money and the rights to Loons’ draft pick Sean O’Hearn in mid-March. Near that same time, the Loons’ then-top left back Chase Gasper went into the MLS substance abuse program.
Gasper was traded to Los Angeles Galaxy in May, and Lawrence held down the left back spot in 2022, playing 2,305 minutes across 27 regular season games. Lawrence scored one goal with two assists, and his 3.28 clearances per 90 minutes puts him in the 94th percentile compared to other fullbacks, according to fbref.com.
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