Sporting Kansas City trades Teal Bunbury to New England

For a while, it looked like Teal Bunbury would be a longtime fixture for Sporting Kansas City and in the United States soccer scene. And maybe one day he will return to prominence for the United States, but it won’t be as a member of Sporting Kansas City.

Bunbury is off to the New England Revolution. Sporting Kansas City traded Bunbury on Wednesday for New England’s first-round pick in the 2015 Major League Soccer draft, plus cash.

It was in 2011 when Bunbury started 20 games for Sporting Kansas City and scored nine goals, tied for the most on the team with Kei Kamara (who left the team last year) and Omar Bravo (who left the team the year before last). The promise showed by the young forward earned him a spot on the U.S. senior team for several international friendly matches in 2011. 

But Bunbury’s production dropped in the following year, even before he tore his ACL during an August 26, 2012, match against the New York Red Bulls. Since then, it has been an uphill battle for Bunbury to return to his 2011 form.

He played 12 games for Sporting Kansas City last year, scoring one goal. But the ascension of forwards such as C.J Sapong, Dom Dwyer and Claudio Bieler, plus up-and-coming prospects like Soony Saad, made it difficult for Bunbury to crack the starting lineup.

Bunbury scored 19 MLS regular-season goals while with Sporting Kansas City, making him the club’s 10th all-time goal scorer. He turns 24 next Thursday.