Julián Carranza deal with Dutch club Feyenoord is imminent

Lionel Messi won’t be on the field when his Miami team visits the Union Saturday night (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). But he won’t be the only marquee Argentine forward missing, and the other one is an even bigger deal to the home team.

Julián Carranza won’t play for the Union, a source with knowledge of the matter said, as a deal nears to sell him to Dutch club Feyenoord. Talks have been going on for a while and now are almost over the line.

Carranza practiced Friday, but not with the starters. It was an open practice for season ticket-holders, and he signed autographs for them (that are now about to become more valuable). He chatted with Union sporting director Ernst Tanner on the way off the field, then spent some time with other team staff.

It’s unclear exactly when Carranza will leave town. The Dutch transfer window — the first day teams there can sign players they buy — opens Monday, so he might not be around for much longer.

» READ MORE: Why it’s a good thing that the Union are selling Julián Carranza now

Whenever it happens, Carranza will depart as the Union’s No. 3 all-time scorer, despite having been here for just 2½ years. He has 43 goals and 20 assists in 95 games for the club, trailing only Sébastien Le Toux (53 goals) and Dániel Gazdag (61).

The Union signed Carranza from Inter Miami ahead of the 2022 season, pouncing on Miami’s getting punished by MLS for breaking salary cap rules. Carranza came on loan at first, then the Union paid a mere $500,000 that July to buy him. It is still one of the great heists in MLS history.

Who will step up?

Some Union fans will be understandably annoyed that the team is selling Carranza in the middle of a season that has been underwhelming enough as is. Markus Anderson and Tai Baribo will have to step up in his absence, and they’ll have big shoes to fill.

Anderson is a newcomer this year, and though he’s shown flashes of potential, he hasn’t played much because of injuries. Baribo is in his second Union season and has been a bust so far after the Union spent $1.5 million to buy him last summer. He has barely played, in part because manager Jim Curtin didn’t like his practice habits in the past.

» READ MORE: Tai Baribo had a symbolic role in the Union’s loss to Seattle in April, in more ways than one

But there are still plenty of serious reasons for the Union to make this move.

Carranza is out of contract after this year, so the Union would have lost him for nothing. He wasn’t going to sign a new deal because he’s had his eye on a move to Europe for a while, with the 2026 World Cup on the horizon.

Had he left as a free agent, it would have set a really bad precedent for a team built mainly on developing young talents and selling them for big money.

It’s not known yet how much money Feyenoord will pay the Union, but the fact that the club is paying at all is worth something. Sporting director Dennis te Kloese could have had Carranza for free at the end of this year.

But Feyenoord will be in the UEFA Champions League this fall, and there’s a slew of big European teams chasing its current star striker, Mexico’s Santi Giménez. If he’s sold this summer, Carranza will inherit the throne.

Te Kloese knew where to look, too. He used to work in MLS, for the Los Angeles Galaxy from 2018 to 2021 and the former Chivas USA in 2013, and has worked multiple times for Mexico’s national team.

No Gazdag either

The Union also will be without Dániel Gazdag this weekend, as he begins his run with Hungary at the European Championship. That also will create a hole in the team’s lineup, but at least it will be temporary.

» READ MORE: Soccer’s European Championship kicks off this weekend. Here are 10 reasons to watch.

It could, though, be even more of a headache for Curtin than Carranza’s departure. Gazdag has played almost every minute possible since joining the Union three summers ago, and the team hasn’t signed or developed a true backup at his attacking midfield spot.

David Vazquez has the most natural talent, but the 18-year-old might not be physically ready for the big leagues yet. Curtin said Thursday that Vazquez is “doing better in training but still has a big step to take.”

Jeremy Rafanello is a more veteran option at 24. He hasn’t played much either, but he delivered a solid fill-in shift when Gazdag and others were away for the Union’s March 23 game at Portland.

“I watched Dániel every day, talked with him every day,” the Delran native said, “Stepping up when international break comes in, I just have to be ready for my number to be called, and I’m more than ready for it.”

» READ MORE: Why the Union’s win at Portland in March was one of their most unexpected ever

Curtin also could tweak his tactics, as he did at Portland by changing the midfield from a diamond-shaped four to a flat line. That probably would put Jack McGlynn in a more creative role, and that might be the best answer for now.

“Obviously I have to do a lot more of an attacking role without [Gazdag] here,” McGlynn said. “I’m an attacking-minded player, so to have more of the attacking burden on my shoulders is something I’m looking forward to.”

Hungary’s Euros opener is Saturday against Switzerland (9 a.m., fuboTV, ViX). The Magyars then play host Germany on Wednesday (noon, FS1, ViX) and Scotland on June 23 (3 p.m., FS1, ViX). Gazdag’s team is good enough to get out of the group stage, so he’ll probably be gone for a few weeks.

» READ MORE: Andre Blake is on Jamaica’s Copa América roster, but it’s not clear at all if he’ll play

Elliott suspended

On top of all that, Jack Elliott is suspended because of a red card in the Union’s last game, a 2-2 tie with CF Montreal on June 1. With Damion Lowe off to the Copa América with Jamaica, Curtin’s most likely move is sliding Nathan Harriel to centerback.

As for Messi, it’s been clear for months that he wouldn’t be here because of the Copa América. He’s with Argentina’s national team, which kicks off the tournament Thursday against Canada in Atlanta (8 p.m., FS1, Univision 62, TUDN, ViX).

Messi’s absence has been expected for so long that even when the Union’s schedule came out in December, the ticket office staff told callers to not expect him to come to town. That didn’t stop ticket prices from jumping on the secondary market, but not as high as they would have if he were coming.

Miami’s other big-name star, Luis Suárez, won’t be here either. The 37-year-old is on Uruguay’s Copa squad, which wasn’t a given because of his age. But manager Marcelo Bielsa decided to take him, which means the U.S. will see him when it faces the Celeste in their much-anticipated group stage finale on July 1 in Kansas City.

Peru beats El Salvador at Subaru Park

A scrappy goal early in the first half by former D.C. United midfielder Edison Flores was enough to give Peru a 1-0 win over El Salvador in a Copa América warmup game Friday at Subaru Park.

Cherry Hill-born goalkeeper Tomas Romero, formerly of the Union’s academy, played the second half for El Salvador. It was his 14th senior game for La Selecta, after he picked his parents’ home country a few years ago.

The 23-year-old had played once before on his old stomping grounds, for Toronto FC’s reserves against the Union’s reserves last year. He joined New York City FC’s reserve team in February.

Romero made a number of big-time saves, frustrating a boisterous pro-Peruvian crowd that filled about half the stands. One of the stops came on a Peru penalty kick in the 48th minute, though shooter Gianluca Lapadula took it poorly and shot right at Romero.