Union trade Andrés Perea to NYCFC, ending his short and disappointing tenure in Philly

The Union traded backup midfielder Andrés Perea to New York City FC on Monday, ending his tenure in Chester after one disappointing season.

Perea, 23, was acquired last offseason from Orlando City, where he had fallen out of favor. The Union moved for him partly because they needed depth and partly because they were sitting on a pile of cash in Major League Soccer’s allocation money system, which is basically used as extra salary-cap space, and had to use it or lose it because it’s allocated by season.

That money was spent in trades for Perea, Joaquín Torres from CF Montréal, and Damion Lowe from Inter Miami. Lowe ended up a great success, Torres a marginal success, and Perea a bust. Perea played just 330 minutes over 11 games for the Union, with only three starts.

His lack of playing time came to a head in late July, and the Union loaned him to NYCFC. New York started Perea in eight of its last 10 games and brought him off the bench in two more.

Though Perea goes down as a bust here, the Union will turn a profit on him. The team paid Orlando $750,000, then got $300,000 from New York in last year’s loan deal, and will receive at least $650,000 more from New York in the trade: $350,000 for this year and $300,000 for next year. There’s also a further $150,000 on the table based on performance incentives.

The Union had agreed to pay Orlando $100,000 based on performance incentives, but Perea didn’t reach them in his limited playing time.

“We want to thank Andrés for his contributions to the club last season,” Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. “He is a young, talented player and has adapted well to New York’s style of play while on loan. This is the best move for the player at this time for his continued development and to be able to maintain his meaningful role with NYCFC. We wish him all the best.”

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