Daniel Gazdag Trade Made Official, Union Get $4 Million In Cash Deal with Columbus Crew

The Union fetched $4 million guaranteed for Gazdag and can receive up to $500,000 if performance metrics are hit.

The Philadelphia Union have officially traded away their all-time leading scorer.

Daniel Gazdag was sent to the Columbus Crew in a deal that brings $4 million in guaranteed cash to the Union. An additional $500,000 can be sent to the Union if Gazdag hits certain performance metrics in Columbus.

“Daniel’s contributions to the club have been invaluable," Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in the club press release. "Since joining the Union, he has been an integral part of the team’s success, and we are deeply grateful for everything he has done for the organization.”

“At this time, we believe this move is in the best interest of both the club and player,” Tanner continued. “The financial flexibility it provides will allow us to further invest and strengthen our roster, while also providing opportunities for other players who we are confident can step in to the role. Additionally, this gives Daniel the opportunity to pursue what makes the most sense for him in the next chapter in his career. We know Daniel will continue to find great success, and we wish him nothing but the best.”

I reported on Wednesday that Gazdag was looking for a pay increase in his new contract. Columbus was willing to meet the contractual demands that the Union wouldn’t.

There’s two trains of thought going around about the deal:

1. How dare the Union trade Gazdag to an Eastern Conference rival, one who is now poised to contend for the No. 1 seed with Gazdag in the fold.

2. It’s great business by the Union because they made profit on an investment and now can (hopefully) put that money back into the squad this season.

There’s layers to how I feel about the situation.

On one hand, you should reward your all-time leading scorer with a new deal, right?

But $4 million is an offer too good to refuse, and it might be the only offer of that substance you’ll ever get for Gazdag.

From Tanner’s perspective, why should he pay a 29-year-old more money over the next three-to-four years for a player who may have already peaked in terms of his performance in Philadelphia.

Every contract negotiation is different, but if Tanner wasn’t willing to budge on a higher number with Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, etc., he wasn’t going to abandon his principles and unload the Brinks truck for Gazdag.

The problem, though, in this situation, you’re treating the Union like a mid-table club, for example, in the Bundesliga, and you sold arguably your best player to a team higher up in the table.

This happens all the time in European leagues, and from Tanner’s eye, it’s the right move to move on from an investment and add one, or maybe two, quality pieces into the squad.

You aren’t selling that vision to the casual soccer fan in Philadelphia. That viewpoint will always be “What the Fuck Are You Doing?”.

And, look, that’s totally fair, what’s the selling point to someone to come down to Chester now?

The team’s two best players are Andre Blake and Kai Wagner. Tai Baribo is a close third, but even in that case, you’re selling casuals on the goalkeeper (who shouldn’t do much if your team is good) and the left back.

For the diehards, well, things might look bleak for a little while.

Indiana Vassilev is going to start at the No. 10 alongside Quinn Sullivan.

It’s practical from the sporting standpoint because Vassilev knows how to play inside Bradley Carnell’s system and the manager trusts him.

You could argue Gazdag wasn’t a perfect fit in Carnell’s system, and I’d agree with that. He’s probably better suited in Columbus in the playmaking role, but still, if you have players of his caliber, you find a way to make it work.

The Union have scored just two goals in the last three games after a barnstorming start in which they netted 11 tallies across four games.

Sure, Vassilev works in the system, but there’s reason to be skeptical about if his production can come close to matching Gazdag’s.

The obvious move from the outside would be to make this Cavan Sullivan’s team, but it’s clear by Carnell’s lineup decisions that the teenager isn’t quite ready to take on the starting load in Major League Soccer.

Sullivan could get eaten alive by the physicality of the game and when he’s ready, he’ll be out there.

However, the contrarian argument to that is you only have Sullivan for so long until he departs for Manchester City, you made such a big deal when he signed and now he’s riding the bench.

If WIP or the Fanatic gave a damn about soccer (which they never will), that would be the hot take, and it wouldn’t be wrong, no matter if he’s ready or not.

Vassilev is the short-term starter in the No. 10 role. Cavan Sullivan could eventually take over that role by the end of the season, but it’s clear that Vassilev has that job to start.

The Union may have a few replacements in mind for Gazdag, but that move likely won’t happen until the European seasons end. The secondary MLS transfer window doesn’t open until July 24.

I doubt there’s an in-league option that Tanner has his eyes on, so for now, the attacking depth is scant.

None of the younger players behind Sullivan that feature in playmaking roles are ready to play. If they were, they’d already be getting minutes as substitutes.

All of the pressure is on Baribo and Bruno Damiani to score the bulk of the goals now.

Mikael Uhre should be involved as well, but it’s clear Baribo-Damiani is the partnership of the long term and they need to start together as much as possible.

Uhre’s been a great part of the club, but the writing seems on the wall that this is his last year in Philadelphia.

The focus now turns to what magic Tanner can pull off in the transfer market.

Tanner has now signed and sold Jose Martinez, Daniel Gazdag and Julian Carranza. Jack McGlynn brought in a $2 million and potentially more.

The majority of Tanner’s incoming signings have worked, which is why you can put blind trust to an extent in his ability to bring in another dynamic No. 10 who suits the Carnell system more.

However, the jury is still out on Ian Glavinovich, Olwethu Makhanya, Jovan Lukic and Damiani. All of them have shown bright spots early on. I’d argue Lukic has proved himself the most of that group.

But if multiple players from that group are unable to contribute at a high level this season, things look bleak for the Union. Glavinvoch doesn’t have an exact timetable for his return from a meniscus injury, but it is a shorter-term injury.

Internally, the Union believe they made the right move with Gazdag.

They will have their skeptics, and to be honest, they always will with this organizational model.

Development and selling players is one thing, but the one big question is whether they can win again, or did they just strike lightning in a bottle during the 2021-23 stretch.

You can make moves like this if you trust your system can get you back in contention, but right now, the Union are acting like a small-market team content with finishing mid-table and giving them a shot in the crapshoot that is the postseason.

For a lot of people, that strategy simply isn’t good enough, but even if you hate it, at least the Union brass have a plan to run their club and they aren’t going to budge from that.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.