TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Purchase option exercised
- PHI get: Julian Carranza
- MIA get: $500k GAM, future transfer percentage
The Philadelphia Union have permanently acquired forward Julian Carranza from Inter Miami CF in exchange for $500,000 in General Allocation Money and a future transfer percentage, the clubs announced Wednesday.
Philadelphia had originally acquired Carranza on loan last December from Miami in exchange for a natural second-round pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. The new funds break down as $250k of GAM in both 2023 and 2024. His contract with the Union is guaranteed through 2023 with an option for 2024.
The move makes the Young Designated Player eligible to play tonight at Inter Miami (8 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+) after the initial intra-league loan agreement meant he’d have to sit out. He’s coming off a hat-trick performance in a 7-0 win over D.C. United, which earned him MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire honors for Week 19.
“We brought Julian in because we believed his work rate and intelligence would be a strong fit for our aggressive style of play and we are very happy with how quickly he has adapted,” Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a release. “His goalscoring has been vital to the team’s success thus far and we expect him to maintain the high level he has shown as the season progresses.”
Carranza, 22, has a team-leading seven goals to go along with four assists in 16 appearances for Philly (15 starts) this year. He’s one of the Union’s two DP strikers alongside Mikael Uhre, their club-record signing who arrived in the offseason from Danish Superliga side Brøndby.
Carranza was one of Inter Miami’s first signings ahead of their 2020 expansion season, arriving in July 2019 from Banfield in the Argentine Primera Division. He was limited to three goals in 41 matches, often stuck behind Gonzalo Higuain on the depth chart.
“We would like to thank Julián for his contributions to the club as one of the first signings in Inter Miami history, and wish him good luck in his future,” Inter Miami chief soccer officer and sporting director Chris Henderson said in a release. “This transaction gives us additional funds to continue building a roster that helps us reach our objectives moving forward.”
Philly, second in the Eastern Conference standings, have a DP spot open beyond Carranza and Uhre as the Secondary Transfer Window runs from July 7 to Aug. 4.
Inter Miami, 10th in the East, have DP spots tied to Higuain, Alejandro Pozuelo (recently acquired in trade from Toronto) and Rodolfo Pizarro (out on loan to Liga MX’s CF Monterrey).
