The MLS transfer window is now open, and teams are already busy at work. Amid a league-wide flurry of reserves being released,
D.C. United
has gone the opposite direction. The Black-and-Red today got Chinese striker
Long Tan
from the
Vancouver Whitecaps
in
exchange for a 2015 1st round Supplemental Draft pick
(essentially a 3rd rounder, if you're like me and mentally treat the two drafts as one and the same entity).
Why so cheap? The last major headline Tan made in MLS was when head coach
Martin Rennie
suspended him indefinitely
after a Twitter outburst - you can follow him
@LongTan23
- demanding playing time or a release. While Tan has played since then (a 90th minute appearance as a sub against the
New York Red Bulls
last Wednesday), clearly there were issues between player and club.
Tan also has a history with United. His first trial in MLS came here, and while he wasn't signed, he did enough to stay in Tom Soehn's mind. Once Soehn ended up in the Vancouver front office, he brought the now-24-year-old Tan aboard. In doing so, Tan became MLS's first-ever Chinese player.
The best summation
of Tan's overall ability ...
