The winds of change blew open a big void in the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
The Union are trading Daniel Gazdag to Columbus in a cash deal, sending the franchise’s all-time leading scorer to an Eastern Conference rival. The move was first reported by Give Me Sport.
Gazdag is the all-time club’s all-time leader in goals (59) and is fourth in assists (31). His 80 goal contributions are second only to Sebastian Le Toux (100) in club history, and Gazdag scored 72 goals in all competitions for the club.
The 29-year-old is in the last year of his contract with a further option for 2026. But the Union have been reticent to pay players in their 30s, and navigating a short-term deal is difficult. Instead, the Union are selling relatively high on Gazdag, with young players behind him and funds to theoretically reinvest.
Gazdag arrived from Hungarian club Honved in the summer of 2021. It took time for him to settle in, with four goals in 23 matches that first half-season after a marathon 18 months since the restart of play in Europe post-COVID. But with a return to a relatively normal schedule, he flourished.
Gazdag scored 22 goals in 2022, helping the Union finish first in the Eastern Conference and earning a spot in MLS’s Best XI. He scored the Union’s first goal of MLS Cup final that year, though he missed in the penalty shootout in a loss to Los Angeles FC.
Gazdag has remained productive. He scored 14 goals and six assists in 2023, though 11 of those goals came at the penalty spot. He rebounded with 17 goals last year, 13 of them from the run of play. He has started six games this year with two goals and two assists. Gazdag has continued to feature for Hungary, making 29 appearances with four goals, including participation in Euro 2024.
Columbus, which won the Leagues Cup and finished second in the CONCACAF Champions Cup last year, lost leading scorer Cucho Hernandez to Spanish club Real Betis and have been trying to fill their creative void since.
It would be the Union’s second utilization of the cash trade mechanism, instituted this year. The Union got $2.1 million from Houston in exchange for Jack McGlynn in February.
Without Gazdag, the Union will likely turn in the immediate future to Indiana Vassilev, acquired in the offseason from St. Louis City. Quinn Sullivan has been productive as a principal chance creator, though Gazdag’s departure clears the runway for more minutes for Cavan Sullivan, CJ Olney and David Vazquez.
This has been an unsettling week for the Union, off to a surprisingly good start in MLS. They lost center back Ian Glavinovich for an extended period of time to a torn meniscus in his knee, with the on-loan Argentine operated on Tuesday. And now they have an absence at the other end of the field to compensate for.
Source: Berkshire mont
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