TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS:Trade
The Chicago Fire have acquired forward CJ Sapong from the Philadelphia Union for up to $450,000 in combined allocation money, both clubs announced on Saturday.
Philadelphia will receive $200,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money, $100,000 in 2020 Targeted Allocation Money, and an additional $100,000 in 2019 General Allocation Money to be conveyed to Philadelphia should Chicago acquire said funds this year.
The eight-year MLS veteran moves to Chicago after four seasons each in Philadelphia and Kansas City.
Sapong, who turned 30 this past December, scored a career-best 16 goals with the Union in 2017, but followed that up with a disappointing season last year.
However, he remained in Union coach Jim Curtin's Starting XI for most of the season because of a willingness to move to a wide attacking role, giving way to Jamaican forward Cory Burke up top.
“CJ has produced many memorable moments in a Union shirt, and his efforts in the community have been admirable," first-year Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. "With the strong state of our forward depth chart, we believe that this is the best move for both CJ and for the Union at this time.”
In total, Sapong has 56 goals and 23 assists in 233 MLS appearances.
With Nemanja Nikolic expected to remain the Fire's primary target up front in 2019, Sapong could ironically fill the role of versatile second attacker that David Accam played for the Fire in 2017 before moving to the Union before the 2018 season.
“CJ brings a different skill set to our attacking options,” Fire club president and GM Nelson Rodriguez said in a statement. “We can now be more varied in how we attack.”
