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It's Official: Charlie Davies To United

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Things continue to look up on my soccer front:

After several days of negotiations, the MLS club announced Wednesday that it has acquired the former U.S. national team starter from French club Sochaux on a one-year loan. United will also have the option to purchase his contract at the end of the season.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but sources close to the situation said United agreed to pay Davies about $300,000 [UPDATE: I'm now told it's around $180,000] and include several incentives. To claim him, United exercised its position at the top of the MLS allocation order, which is utilized when prominent U.S. players decide to play in the league.

United will formally introduce the 24-year-old forward at a 2 p.m. news conference at RFK Stadium (live video on the team's Web site). Davies, who has been practicing with the club for the past two weeks, will then fly to Oxnard, Calif., for the third stage of training camp. He will wear uniform No. 9, his national team designation.

Before agreeing to the deal, United spent two weeks evaluating Davies, who 16 months ago was severely injured in a car accident in the Washington area while on national team duty. He has not played in a first-division game since, spending the first half of this French season with Sochaux's reserve squad.

"He simply looks terrific," United General Manager Dave Kasper said.

This is a crucial singing for DC. When you looked at how the roster was set up without Davies on it, there was little sense anyone would be troubled by it. A healthy Davies, however, changes everything. Finally Quaranta and Najar will have someone they can link up with consistently. Last year watching Allsopp and Cristman flail about was disheartening. It was reverse alchemy. Solid gold chances were reduced to half-chances, and half-chances never materialized at all. Getting Ngwenya and Wolff may have been a baby step in the right direction, they at least have some MLS track-record, but Davies represents a huge leap forward.

If Pontius and Najar can remain healthy and each continues his progression United could be dramatically improved.
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