Galaxy signs Mike Magee and Emmanuel Boateng, more moves expected

Forward Mike Magee is returning to the Galaxy, the club announced Thursday. Then two hours later the club said it had also signed Ghanaian forward Emmanuel Boateng, beginning what could be a flurry of moves over the coming days.

The team opens its preseason training camp Jan. 22 and is believed to have already reached agreement on a free transfer that would bring former English national team defender Ashley Cole from Roma, although that deal has not been announced. The Galaxy has also been linked to Dutch international Nigel de Jong and Aston Villa defender Joleon Lescott.

Money may have been one of the things holding up those moves. But the Galaxy received some salary relief Thursday when it traded its pick in Major League Soccer’s SuperDraft to the Colorado Rapids for targeted allocation money.

The signing of Magee, a free agent who played last season with the Chicago Fire, returns one of the Galaxy’s most popular players to StubHub Center, where he won two MLS Cups. Terms of the deal were not released.

Magee, a 13-year MLS veteran, was traded to Chicago in 2013 for the rights to sign Robbie Rogers. Rogers helped the Galaxy to one league title while Magee won a league MVP award. Injuries limited Magee to 29 games -- and seven goals -- the last two years.

For his career, Magee, 31, has played in 286 MLS games for the New York Red Bulls, Galaxy and Fire. He’s been particularly effective in the biggest games, scoring six goals in 10 playoff appearances for the Galaxy in the 2011 and 2012 postseasons.

“Mike has shown that he is one of the most versatile and effective players in our league,” Bruce Arena, the Galaxy’s coach and general manager, said in a statement. “He is familiar with our club and will be a key part of our team on and off the field.”

Boateng, who last played for Helsingborgs IF in Sweden, will be added to the Galaxy’s roster pending his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC).

Boateng, who will turn 22 on Sunday, was born in Ghana but at 15 he earned a scholarship at the Cate School, a boarding school in Carpinteria, where he named 2012 Gatorade Soccer Player of the Year after leading his leading his team to a 42-2-1 record and two CIF Southern Division 7 championships. As a sprinter, Boateng also reached the quarterfinals in both the 100 and 200 meters in the 2011 CIF Southern Division championships.

He skipped his senior year at Cate School to attend UC Santa Barbara, where he was named the Big West’s Freshman of the Year and made the First Team All-Big West.