Philadelphia Union trade for Chicago Fire winger David Accam
Sons of Ben members were hoping the Philadelphia Union made some noise at the 2018 MLS SuperDraft on Friday. While they had no picks in the draft and didn’t trade up into the first round of the MLS event, Philadelphia reportedly made a major splash by making a trade with the Chicago Fire.
Union personnel talked with the Fire’s team members during the first round supposedly about this move. The rumored move, as Paul Tenorio first reported, “sends winger David Accam to the Union in return for more than $1 million” in general allocation and targeted allocation monies.
Chicago Fire has traded winger David Accam to the Philadelphia Union for more than $1 million in GAM/TAM, per multiple sources with knowledge of the move. Story to come on @ESPNFC.
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) January 19, 2018
The league confirmed the trade during the MLS SuperDraft. The Union officially sends 300 thousand dollars in GAM and 900 thousand dollars in TAM. The news caused the Union fans to break out in cheers and chants inside the draft room.
Other than re-signing Andre Blake to a new deal and signing some of its academy players and players from USL affiliate Bethlehem Steel FC, it’s been a quiet offseason for the Union. However, this news makes some noise across the league and helps improve a team that didn’t have many scoring threats outside of forward CJ Sapong who scored 16 goals last season.
Related Post: 2018 MLS SuperDraft Live Tracker
After sending a reported $1 million in allocation monies to the Chicago Fire, the Union need to find a way to lock up Acaam long-term. The winger’s contract expires after the 2018 MLS season. It’s a steep amount of money to send to another team if the player is only around for one season.
However, Acaam immediately upgrades the Union offense. In 2017 he scored 14 goals and assisted on seven other plays. His 14 goals rank second-highest compared to the 2017’s Union roster who had no one other than Sapong score more than seven goals on the season.
This is a win-win for both teams despite the Fire losing a scoring threat. They can now go out with their 1.2 million dollars in added funds and re-invest it wisely to replace Acaam. On the other hand, the Union completed their first major signing of the offseason.
While this move doesn’t fill the Union’s need for a No. 10, it does bring in a dynamic wing option to the City of Brotherly Love. For Union fans’ sake, hopefully, the Union find a viable option at the No. 10 position.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
