Trade reunites 'mentally tough' Davies with Bedoya
The Union continued the reshaping of their team right up to the deadline of the Major League Soccer transfer window.
The Union continued the reshaping of their team right up to the deadline of the Major League Soccer transfer window.
In a deal that was completed around midnight Wednesday, the Union acquired veteran forward Charlie Davies and a natural third-round selection in the 2018 MLS draft from the New England Revolution for general and targeted allocation money and the Union's first-round pick in the 2018 draft.
Coupled with the addition earlier Wednesday of U.S. national team midfielder Alejandro Bedoya, the Union have fortified their team for the MLS stretch run. With 12 games remaining, the Union (8-8-6) are fourth in the Eastern Conference with 30 points.
The top six teams in the conference will qualify for the postseason.
Davies and Bedoya are longtime friends, having been teammates at Boston College.
This trade came less than a week after Davies revealed he had been treated for liposarcoma, a rare form of cancer. He is in remission.
In a tweet last week, Davies wrote, "Cancer was something I never expected, but having beaten it, I'm that much stronger for it. Pumped to be back with the squad."
The 30-year-old Davies returned to the field Saturday for the first time since April 27. He played the final 15 minutes as a reserve in a 3-1 loss to Orlando.
This season, he had one goal in nine games for New England. In 2015, Davies had 10 goals in 33 games.
Union coach Jim Curtin said that C.J. Sapong is still his starting forward, but Davies is a different type of player, one who stretches the field more than Sapong, who is physical, delivering and taking his share of pounding. Davies will provide much-needed depth, and Curtin said both men could play together.
"[If] you are down a goal late in the game and two of them on the field at the same time, it is not out of the question," Curtin said.
In addition to his recent health situation, Davies was a passenger in a car involved in a fatal crash in Washington in 2009 while he was a member of the U.S. national team. He suffered a fractured right tibia and femur, a fractured elbow, multiple facial fractures, a lacerated bladder, and bleeding in his brain.
The injuries sidelined him more than a year.
In March, Davies' wife, Nina, gave birth to twin sons who were three months premature. They spent nearly two months in neonatal intensive care before going home in June.
Curtin said on a conference call that Davies would travel to Washington on Saturday for the game against D.C. United and be available for selection.
Davies, who has earned 17 caps with the national team, will be a positive influence on and off the field, according to Curtin.
"Battling cancer, a car accident - the guy is mentally tough," the coach said.