Looking for forward help after the offseason departure of Juan Agudelo, the New England Revolution added some on Wednesday by acquiring Teal Bunbury from Sporting Kansas City in exchange for allocation money and the Revolution's first-round pick in next year's SuperDraft.
Bunbury joins Honduran Designated Player Jerry Bengtson and Dimitry Imbongo as likely center forwards in the Revolution's 4-3-3 formation, although Bunbury could also play as a wide forward, where the Revolution are shorthanded due to injuries, most notably to Saer Sene. Leading scorer Diego Fagundez, former US national-teamer Charlie Davies and first-round draft pick Patrick Mullins are among New England's other forward options.
“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 in a club statement. “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.”
Drafted by Kansas City out of Akron in 2010, Bunbury scored five goals as a rookie and added nine in a breakout 2011 campaign that included his first goal for the US national team. A torn ACL in August 2012 has slowed his career; he appeared in just 12 games after returning in June last year and contributed one assist.
Bunbury appeared in the postseason in each of the last three years for Sporting KC, scoring twice against Colorado in 2011 and starting two of Sporting's five games en route to the 2013 MLS Cup title, although he was an unused substitute in the final.
