Real Salt Lake Adds Defenseman Lukas Engel From EFL Championship

SALT LAKE CITY — Real Salt Lake acquired defenseman Lukas Engel from Middlesbrough F.C. in the English Football League Championship on Friday.

After making his MLS debut with 41 appearances for Cincinnati in 2025, RSL opted to permanently keep him on this side of the water through 2028.

Newest addition to our backline
Welcome to the Beehive State, Lukas

In English: https://t.co/3Lx1doaUww
En Español: https://t.co/DZw3I7d5R6 pic.twitter.com/86sWBegNI2

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 16, 2026

The deal also includes a club option for the 2028-2029 MLS season.

Last year in Cincy, Engel totaled 2735 minutes and posted four assists, four shots on target, a 79 percent pass completion rate, and won 65.6 percent of his 96 aerial duels.

Engel will immediately come to the Beehive State to meet the team and slot into a defenseman room that includes names like Justen Glad, Alexandros Katranis, and Brayan Vera.

first day in the office ✔️ pic.twitter.com/plkeYlYvE8

— Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) January 13, 2026

More About Lukas Engel

Engel is 27 years old and was born in Kastrup, Denmark.

Standing at 5-foot-10, he made his professional debut in 2021 for Vejle in the Danish Superliga. That came after four years in the Danish 1st Division, where he tallied 18 goals across 90 appearances.

Engel stayed in the Danish Superliga through 2023, playing for both Vejle and Silkeborg.

He moved to the EFL Championship in the 2023-2024 season, where he would play a total of 53 games for Middlesbrough over two seasons.

How To Watch Real Salt Lake

All Major League Soccer games are broadcast on Apple TV with MLS Season Pass.

All Real Salt Lake English-language radio coverage for the 2024 season and beyond will be carried on various KSL radio signals. KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM) and KSL Newsradio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) are both stations under the Bonneville International umbrella.

For more Real Salt Lake coverage and analysis, subscribe to The RSL Show and follow them on Instagram. 

You can find KSL Sports coverage of Real Salt Lake here.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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