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Just a little over three weeks after the Philadelphia Union selected him in the second round of the MLS Re-Entry draft, Conor Casey has signed a contract with his new club.
Digital Media Manager for the Union, Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr), took to Twitter on January 4th to announce the 31-year-old Casey had finally crossed the t's and dotted the i's. Casey made $400,000 last year, and his new yearly salary will be close to it, according to Gabriel, who said Casey didn't take much of a discount.
Per team and league policy, the terms of the deal were not released..
After spending the first seven years of his career in Germany, Casey returned to the states in 2007 to play for Toronto FC, only to be shipped to Colorado after just two games with the Canadian team. Casey made himself a household name in MLS with the Rapids.
The target striker fit incredibly well into their offense and scored 50 goals in 119 appearances.
John Hackworth believes Casey can put up strong numbers in Philadelphia as well. In an interview with the team's website, the head coach spoke of his excitement about the new addition.
"He fits the style we want to play. He’s 6-1, but he plays bigger than that," Hackworth said. "I think it’s going to be a great new start for Conor and for us."
A recent history of lower body injuries have somewhat derailed the New Hampshire native's career. In 2006, Casey had surgery to remove scar tissue from his knees.
He suffered a torn ACL midway through the season in 2011, an injury which sidelined him for the rest of the year. And in 2012, knee issues limited him to just 18 games.
But Hackworth was confident that Casey can be a contributing member to a team that struggled to put the ball in the back of the net last season.
"We weren’t looking for a role player," Hackworth told Andy Jasner, of philadelphiaunion.com. "Adding Conor creates a lot of competition at the forward position, just like we have at all our positions. I think it’s a win-win situation to be able to bring in a player with Conor’s ability and talent to score goals."