Nashville SC trade Dylan Nealis to New York Red Bulls

Nashville SC traded defender Dylan Nealis to New York Red Bulls on Thursday in exchange for $125,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), with an additional $75,000 in conditional GAM if certain performance metrics are met.

Nealis, 23, was acquired from Inter Miami CF before the start of last season for $175,000 in GAM. The right back played 165 minutes for Nashville in four appearances, and saw the field just once after July. Nealis was drafted third overall in the 2020 MLS SuperDraft, and has made 23 appearances in his two seasons in MLS.

It’s not a significant surprise to see Nashville move on from Nealis after his 2021 season. Nealis was seemingly upgraded depth for Alistair Johnston, but was beaten for minutes by a resurgent Eric Miller. While his time in Nashville didn’t live up to expectations, he’s a young player who gets the chance to return home, and will have the added benefit of playing next to his older brother Sean Nealis in the lineup.

From a Nashville perspective, Miller has proven to be a valuable depth piece at multiple positions, and they should be able to add another option at right back at a lower cost.

The move was confirmed with a Nashville SC source and a Nashville announcement is expected shortly.

UPDATE: Nashville have since officially confirmed the move, which took place during the MLS half-day trade window on Sunday.

Author: Ben Wrightis the Director of Soccer Content and a Senior MLS Contributor for Broadway Sports covering Nashville SC and the US National Team. Previously Ben was the editor and a founder of Speedway Soccer, where he has covered Nashville SC and their time in USL before journeying to Major League Soccer since 2018. Raised in Louisville, KY Ben grew up playing before a knee injury ended his competitive career. When he is not talking soccer he is probably producing music, drinking coffee or hanging out with his wife and kids. Mastodon

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