Teams get their moves in during four-hour trade window
Time is truly never wasted in this league. Just a few hours after the season’s final whistle in Atlanta, preparations for the 2019 campaign were already underway on Sunday morning, in the form of a half-day trade window. And your Montreal Impact was among the busiest teams.
After announcing first that the Bleu-blanc-noir had sent goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, the club announced a trade for Argentine forward Maximiliano Urruti from FC Dallas. The long-time MLS man has an impressive résumé and ranks in the top 15 in scoring in MLS over the past three seasons.
Around the league
Speaking of the Whitecaps, they were also one of the busier teams in yesterday’s four-hour trade window. After acquiring Crépeau from the Impact, Vancouver added more security between the posts when it traded for goalkeeper Zac MacMath from the Colorado Rapids, exchanging Nicolas Mezquida and $100,000 in TAM.
The league’s newest club, FC Cincinnati, took advantage of Vancouver’s additions to sign goalkeeper Spencer Richey, sending back their third-round pick in their first SuperDraft ever.
Richey had spent the previous season on loan with FC Cincinnati in its last USL season, starting 14 games and posting a record of 11-1-2 with a 1.29 goals against average. He also started both the club’s playoff games this year, cementing himself in the number one position.
All in all, a very busy day for new head coach Marc Dos Santos, who’s already starting to impose his vision on the West Coast club. The former Montreal head coach in USL also made a move to bulk up his defensive line, acquiring defender PC Giro from Orlando City SC.
In Dallas, it isn’t just Urruti leaving the Texan club this offseason; Tesho Akindele, the 2014 MLS Rookie of the Year, was shipped to Orlando City SC for $150,000 in allocation money spread over two seasons.
The Philadelphia Union made a small trade as well, sending 25-year-old forward Fabian Herbers to the Chicago Fire for a second-round pick in this year’s SuperDraft. The striker has just one goal and two assists in the past two seasons after a solid rookie year in 2016.
What’s to come?
The closest deadline on the horizon is the MLS Expansion Draft, set to take place Tuesday, December 11 at 2pm. You can take a look at the Impact’s list of protected players here, and consult other key dates on the horizon here.
