Union

Trading Your All-Time Leading Goal Scorer for Cash is the Most Union Thing Ever

By Kevin Kinkead

Published: Apr 9th, 2025 · 10:10 AM EDT

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Blockbuster Union news on a Wednesday morning:

💣🇭🇺 BREAKING: The Columbus Crew have agreed a deal to acquire to star attacking midfielder Daniel Gazdag from the Philadelphia Union, per sources.https://t.co/pzqx45xZLD

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) April 9, 2025

If you’re not a Union fan, this would be like the 3-1 Eagles trading Saquon Barkley for draft picks after Week 4. Gazdag is the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer and Bogert is reporting that the U are receiving cash in return. Trading away one of your top 10 greatest players of all time for cash is the most on-brand Union thing ever.

That said, Gazdag is a 29-year-old Designated Player with a team option after this season. They free up a DP slot and get a little younger while bringing back some money at the same time. Joe is reporting on his substack that Gazdag was looking for more $$$ in his next deal, and the Union don’t like to do either one of those things – give contracts to older guys and/or pay them more money. They prefer to move those players for assets and cycle through younger and cheaper guys who fit the Red Bull system. Jack Elliott left for Chicago this winter for similar reasons.

This feels like the Jack McGlynn move in a sense, where they’ve clearly identified who is and is not going to be part of this new approach moving forward, and they seek return for those players while the values remain relatively high. It wasn’t an issue of Gazdag’s productivity. He has two goals and two assists and still looks fresh in a slightly different position playing in a new shape under Bradley Carnell. But even though the Union started well, they’ve leveled off a bit and maybe sporting director Ernst Tanner and the front office are committed to turning over the roster and sticking with a plan, early results be damned. If that’s the case, I think you have to begrudgingly give them credit, because these are ballsy moves that aren’t necessarily going to be popular.

As we’ve noted before, Ernst is an emotionless and pragmatic German, and the guy sticks to his guns and executes the plan no matter what the fans or media think. Emotionless and pragmatic Germans don’t give a fuck! They certainly will not waffle. And certainly you can disagree with the philosophy itself, but you can’t deny that they’re committed to it. There’s no flip flopping. If this was the Philadelphia Flyers of the last 20 years, they would have signed Gazdag to an eight-year extension and become deadline buyers in an effort to win the title, then lost in the second round.

So even though some of these moves are head scratchers initially, there’s no denying that the Union have a clear organizational approach and they aren’t afraid to make huge deals like this one. It doesn’t solve the problem of the franchise being overall cheap, and not spending enough on players, but there’s no ambiguity in what they’re trying to do.