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Montreal Impact Trade for All-Star Striker Jack McInerney

  • Frank Doyle's Author profile. Frank Doyle

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The Montreal Impact acquired all-star striker Jack McInerney from the Philadelphia Union in exchange for former first-round pick Andrew Wenger Friday.

The Impact need attacking help and this could be a move that will not only help them now, but down the road as well. As long as Marco Di Vaio is fit and willing, he will be the starting striker for Montreal Impact, but he’s much closer to the end of his career than the beginning.

Wenger started Montreal’s first three games of the season as Di Vaio served a suspension, scoring once during his stretch with the starting 11. Di Vaio is back now, but the Impact weren’t willing to wait around any longer to get back into form after picking up just a single point through four matches.

While moving a 23-year-old player who was a former No. 1 overall SuperDraft pick takes some guts, the Impact have to like McInerney’s upside. He’s just 21 years old himself and already has five Major League Soccer season under his belt. He was Philadelphia’s top goal scorer in each of the last two season, burying 12 last year on his way to a berth on the MLS All-Star team.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to bring in a player of Jack McInerney’s quality,” Impact sporting director Nick De Santis said in a statement released by the club. “At a young age, he’s already showed the ability to score goals in this league and we feel his qualities and soccer sense fit well within our style of play.”

That style of play is catching some fire for the team’s early struggles, but it might take some time for Montreal to get its act together. The Impact lost the irreplaceable Alessandro Nesta on the back line in the offseason and is adjusting to a new coach Frank Klopas.

“We have good players, a good team,” Di Vaio told reporters. “We’re training a lot harder the last [few] weeks and we know that if we concentrate, we are a good team.”

Montreal tries for its first win of the season Saturday at Stade Olympique when the New York Red Bulls come to town. Sports Interaction has Montreal set as a +124 favorite with the draw at +216 and New York at +214 in its MLS soccer odds.