Albania midfielder Jahmir Hyka has completed his move to the San Jose Earthquakes, the Major League Soccer club confirmed on Friday.
The 28-year-old joins the Earthquakes from Swiss club FC Lucerne after an undisclosed transfer fee. San Jose used targeted allocation money in the deal, which a source told ESPN FC on Thursday will pay Hyka about $500,000 a season.
Hyka is primarily a left-side midfielder who has been with the Swiss club for parts of the past six seasons. In that time he has made 180 league and cup appearances, scoring 21 goals.
Prior to that he has spent time with hometown club FK Tirana, Norwegian side Rosenborg, German club Mainz, and Panionios in Greece. Hyka has made 38 appearances for Albania's national team, scoring two goals.
We'll let the video do the talking... ��#WelcomeJahmir | #ForwardAsOne pic.twitter.com/t3IBzYCoDi
- San Jose Earthquakes (@SJEarthquakes) February 3, 2017
"Hyka brings an element of surprise to any team and to any match," said Earthquakes general manager Jesse Fioranelli. "Being a player that is very strong technically, he attacks the defense in one-on-one situations without any indication of which way he will go or the pass that he will be making.
"This means that our strikers will be well served and the element of surprise will allow us to attack from many fronts."
Fioranelli has had a busy month since taking over as Earthquakes GM on Jan. 5 as the team has made a number of moves in a bid to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Thursday saw the Quakes sign German midfielder Florian Jungwirth and Dutch forward Danny Hoesen. They join forward Marco Urena and defender Harold Cummings as new acquisitions this winter.
San Jose has also signed homegrown product Nick Lima as well as 2017 MLS SuperDraft selection Jackson Yueill this offseason.