The center-back, who was a standout player at the most recent World Cup, is an Australian international who occasionally showed it for the Jambos. However, this is insufficient.

The 26-year-old, who excels at one-on-one defending and superior placement on the field, might not have fared well in the rough and tumble of the Scottish Premiership. He failed in Scotland because of his lack of aerial skill.

Not the Old Firm declared in January that Rowles was expected to sign with DC United, and a few weeks later, he completed the transfer to Major League Soccer.

While some Jambos supporters were dissatisfied with the Rowles fee they were able to recover, others thought it was a wise move as they replaced him with Jamie McCart for a mere £70,000. While Lewis Neilson was called back from his loan at St Johnstone, Neil Critchley also added Austrian center half Michael Steinwender to his team. Since MLS was in its off season when the Australian signed, he had not yet made his debut until last night, when his new team drew 2-2 with Toronto.

Ex-Hearts star Kye Rowles made DC United vice-captain

In the lead up to that game, the Black and Red made their captaincy announcement for the season ahead and, despite being a recent signing, Rowles was made their vice. And he will be backing up a familiar name in the shape of former Liverpool and Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, who scored in yesterday’s draw. Benteke took over as captain last season and will resume his role. The club announced the decision on social media, posting a picture of the two players with the caption: “Your captains for our 30th season.”

Hearts supporters were quite aback by how swiftly their former player accepted the honor.

According to one, “Kye Rowles’ promotion to captain of DC United wasn’t on my 2025 bingo card, but good job to him.”

Another person wrote: “Wow! I hope he has luck.

This fan reflected: “I liked him, but he wasn’t built for our game; he always got bodied when he faced a unit.” Good luck to you tonight, him.

“Congratulations on Kye Rowles’ promotion to vice captain,” commented Oli Bozanic, a fellow Australian and former Jambo.

Troy Lesesne explains picking Christian Benteke and Rowles

Troy Lesesne, the manager of DC United, gave an explanation for his choice, stating: “Christian Benteke will be the captain this year. He took over as the main captain last season and has done an amazing job of continuing to fill that role.”

Kye Rowles was appointed vice-captain today. For us, those two men will be the captain and vice-captain, with several more players supporting them as leaders.

Even though they don’t hold the title of captain, they will nonetheless be expected to lead.