A really good move by the New England Revolution on Wednesday as they acquired forward Teal Bunbury from Sporting Kansas City via trade. To get the 23-year-old striker, the Revs gave up their first-round draft pick in the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and that nebulous thing called allocation money.
In 89 career appearances in Kansas City, Bunbury made 48 starts while scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists.
“We’ve been very open about our desire to add some additional attacking players to our roster ahead of the season and we believe Teal is a player who can make the sort of impact we need,” New England general manager Michael Burns said. “He’s a talented, young player who can add a dynamic element to our system, and we’re looking forward to getting him into camp and integrated into our group as soon as possible.”
Last season was a disappointment for Bunbury, who lost his starting role, as he only managed one assist all season. New England will be hoping that Bunbury can regain his form of 2010 when he scored a career-high nine goals.
There has been a gaping hole in the New England attack since Juan Agudelo left for Stoke at the end of last season. Jerry Bengtson can score at the international level, but he has been unable to convert that goals in MLS, while Dimitry Imbongo has not show that he can be a consistent 10-15 goal a season striker.
And that it what Revs boss Jay Heaps will be hoping that Bunbury can do. Get 10-15 goals this season. If he can, then the playoffs are once again a possibility for New England. If Bunbury fails to regain his scoring touch, it could be a long season in a very tough Eastern Conference for New England.
