Union travel to Cincinnati for Saturday night game, D.C. United make Christian Benteke their latest DP and more in today’s links
Philadelphia Union News
Know Your Enemy | Union take winning ways to FC Cincinnati
Brandon Vazquez was cast off by Atlanta and now looks like he could finish atop the scoring charts. Lucho Acosta was unneeded by DC United and has a cool seven goals and four assists to his name, and much-maligned big money signing Brenner now has six goals. With 26 goals between them, that Cincy trio is behind only Philadelphia’s Gazdag, Julian Carranza, and Mikael Uhre as the most productive front three in the league.
Julian Carranza voted Union Player of July
Carranza bagged a hat trick against rivals D.C. United early in the month, becoming the fifth player in club history to score three goals in a league match. For his actions, he was named the MLS Player of the Week and along with a spot on the MLS Team of the Week. Last weekend the forward bagged an additional goal and added an assist in the final contest of the month to finish July with four goals and an assist.
MLS News
MLS Preview: Crew-NYCFC, RSL-LAFC headline top matches in Week 24
The Columbus Crew captured plenty of attention with their key signing of the summer, Cucho Hernandez, however with Caleb Porter’s side enduring a frustrating postponement last weekend and a difficult loss to CF Montreal in midweek action, a home matchup against a New York City FC team still in transition offers a chance to make amends.
D.C. United signs Christian Benteke from Crystal Palace to Designated Player deal
He scored 49 goals over 101 appearances before moving to Liverpool where he scored only ten goals over 42 appearances in his only year with the Reds, before moving to Crystal Palace in 2016 where he scored 37 goals over 177 appearances. Benteke has been regularly considered for the Belgium national team, scoring 18 goals in 45 appearances, including a March 2022 friendly win over Burkina Faso.
LAFC acquire forward Denis Bouanga from Saint-Etienne
The 27-year-old Gabon International comes after a fruitful spell in France. In 28 starts for the Ligue 2 side last season, he managed to service up six assists and net nine goals of his own. The forward will sign on as a Designated Player for the squad, making him the third and final DP on roster.
Revolution acquire Ismael Tajouri-Shradi from LAFC
Tajouri-Shradi made six appearances for LAFC, where he notched two goals over 161 minutes of action. During his four seasons with NYCFC, Tajouri-Shradi appeared in 98 matches, where he notched 29 goals and seven assists over 5,090 minutes and brought the club an MLS Cup in 2021.
Minnesota United finalizes contract for new Colombian attacker Mender Garcia
Garcia has spent his career with Once Caldas after he signed there in 2017. He has scored 22 goals and eight assists across all competitions while playing both forward and left wing. He played 112 games for Once Caldas.
San Jose Earthquakes acquire LaLiga defender Carlos Akapo
He’s earned 28 caps with Equatorial Guinea, scoring one goal and competing in eight FIFA World Cup qualifying matches. He also helped his native country reach the quarterfinals of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which took place this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chinonso Offor traded from Fire to CF Montréal
The Nigerian made 42 appearances for the Fire, including all 34 MLS matches last season, but only scored 2 goals. He has been the third choice striker this season behind Jhon Durán and Kacper Przybyłko.
Vancouver Whitecaps waive Argentine defender Erik Godoy
Godoy appeared in 68 games across all competitions for the Whitecaps, making 62 starts and scoring four goals.
RSL rounds out transfer window with Bryan Oviedo signing
Oviedo, 32, did not play for his club, FC Copenhagen, in their most recent campaign but did earn significant minutes with the Costa Rican national team in their successful World Cup qualification bid.