The Columbus Crew look to have strengthed its lineup by acquiring Daniel Gazdag from the Philadelphia Union. The deal was first As Tom Bogert from GiveMeSport reported, the Columbus Crew have strengthened their attacking lineup with the addition of Daniel Gazdag.

Gazdag, 29, will be joining Columbus in a cash trade deal.

The Hungarian midfielder has consistently contributed to goals since joining the Philadelphia Union in 2021, scoring at least 14 goals in the last three seasons, including an impressive 22 goals in 2022.

This season, Gazdag has started all six matches for the Union, scoring two goals in 498 minutes of play. Last year, he recorded 17 goals and two assists in 2,500 minutes across 30 games, of which he started 28.

Before joining MLS and the Union, Gazdag played for Budapest Honvéd FC in the Hungarian First Tier (Nemzeti Bajnokság), where he developed through the youth system. He began with the youth team in 2010, progressed to the U-17 and U-19 squads, and debuted with the senior team in 2015.

On the international stage, he has earned 29 caps with the Hungarian National Team.

This signing is a significant boost for Columbus as they aim to maintain their unbeaten streak this season, currently standing at four wins, zero losses, and three draws. Despite the absence of Cucho Hernandez and Christian Ramirez, Gazdag will form an exciting partnership with Diego Rossi and Jacen Russell-Rowe at the striker position.

“We are thrilled to add a high-impact player of Daniel’s pedigree to our team,” said Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall.

“He is an experienced player who has proven to be one of the top players in our league over the past few years.

His high soccer IQ, work ethic on and off the ball, and competitive spirit will be a great addition to our team. Daniel’s profile is one we were looking for to complement our current group, and we are excited to see him get started in the Black & Gold.”

Gazdag joins the Crew for a fee of $4m + $500k in add-ons if certain performance incentives are met.

“Everything happened so fast. I think I found out about the Crew’s interest last week, and a week later I’m here,” said Gazdag at his introductory press conference Friday afternoon.

“Obviously when my agent first told me that the Crew is interested about me, I got very excited and I told him I think that would be a great move.”

Gazdag’s status for Sunday is unknown, but hinted that he is ready to go.

You can watch the Crew face-off against St. Louis CITY SC on Sunday, from Energizer Park. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT, on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.