The Houston Dynamo acquired Collen Warner from Toronto FC on Wednesday, sending a conditional second-round pick in the 2017 SuperDraft north of the border in exchange for the 27-year-old midfielder.
Warner has made 141 career MLS regular season appearances since turning pro in 2010, totaling three goals and ten assists in stints with Real Salt Lake, Montreal Impact and Toronto FC. He spent the last year and a half with Toronto FC, appearing in 49 regular season matches for the club since being acquired in a trade from Montreal in May 2014.
He joins a Dynamo midfield that already goes ten deep, and features fellow central midfielders Ricardo Clark, Boniek Garcia and Cristian Maidana, among others.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Collen to the Houston Dynamo,” Dynamo VP and general manager Matt Jordan said in a statement released by the club. “His extensive MLS experience, athleticism and quality in the midfield will be a welcomed addition to our group. He joins our club at a very good age and is eager to contribute to the success of the team moving forward. Collen’s profile brings something different to our already talented midfield, creating strong competition moving forward.”
Even without Warner, Toronto FC are still well-stocked at the position, with Michael Bradley and Benoit Cheyrou joined by offseason acquisition Will Johnson in TFC’s central midfield.
“With our current depth in midfield, we felt we could make a move to acquire a future asset and we’ve accomplished that with this deal,” Toronto FC general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a statement. “We’d like to thank Collen for his contributions to Toronto FC and wish him all the best.
Both Houston and Toronto will begin their 2016 seasons on Sunday, with TFC travelling to New York to take on the Red Bulls (1:30 pm ET, TSN4 and RDS2 in Canada, MLS LIVE in the US) and the Dynamo hosting New England at BBVA Compass Stadium (3 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
