Union sell Lahoud to Miami FC

Following reports of his departure yesterday, the Philadelphia Union have announced that Michael Lahoud has been sold to Miami FC of the NASL. Lahoud was loaned to the Cosmos in January in conjunction with the signing of Walter Restrepo.

Kristian Dyer of BigAppleSoccer.com reported yesterday that the Union exercised their right to recall Lahoud from his loan at any time.

Just two weeks ago, Miami, an expansion side in the NASL, reportedly spent a whopping $750k to acquire Richie Ryan from the Jacksonville Armada. The deal made news in American soccer circles, as a fee of that magnitude is not exactly commonplace in a league where the Union's very own Walter Restrepo was once traded for hotel rooms. The Union's technical staff surely took notice of Miami's deep pockets, as they quickly moved their on-loan defensive midfielder to Florida for a sizable sum of cash.

Hearing @PhilaUnion got $300k+ for Michael Lahoud. Good piece of business. #MLS

— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) May 24, 2016

With this move, the Union pad their bank account without compromising the depth of the active roster. Considering that the team was unlikely to bring back Lahoud anyway, this is a great deal.

Lahoud was initially acquired four years ago, as he came the other way in the trade that sent Danny Califf to Chivas USA.

With Lahoud off to Miami, Sebastien Le Toux, Brian Carroll, and Ray Gaddis are the only players on the Union's roster who were first signed during the Peter Nowak Era.