After more than a year of wanting Bruno Damiani, the Union’s new record signing has arrived

Though Bruno Damiani came on to Union fans’ radar late in the preseason, he was far from new to the club.

At a news conference Tuesday to introduce the club’s newest striker, sporting director Ernst Tanner revealed that he’d been interested in the Uruguay native for more than a year. This winter, Tanner finally reeled in the 22-year-old and made him the most expensive player in team history with a $3.4 million transfer fee.

“The striker market is very difficult, and, also, not everybody wants to join MLS,” Tanner said. “We had quite an intensive search, and we were basically focusing on the ones we can get and reach. And it’s important that you know the player, that you know about the background of the player, so we were very happy that he speaks English so well already — even if he claims not to.”

Damiani did indeed claim that, and he spoke in English and Spanish. But his English is just fine, partially because his father, Jaime, is an economics professor at one of Uruguay’s most prominent universities. Jaime was at Tuesday’s festivities, a nice touch.

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“It’s obviously a proud moment for me to be the team’s record transfer,” Bruno said. “For me, this was one of the main options to join MLS. And to know that they have so much confidence in me, I’m proud. I’m ready to work hard and get on the field.”

Damiani knew some things about MLS already when the Union approached him. At his previous club, Uruguay’s Nacional, he played with former Orlando City midfielder Mauricio Pereyra, former Los Angeles FC midfielder Francisco Ginella, and current New York Red Bulls midfielder Felipe Carballo.

All are part of a distinguished history of Uruguayan players in MLS, from Álvaro Fernández and Diego Rossi in past years to Luis Suárez and Nicolas Lodeiro right now.

“I think it’s a very good place to grow up to continue my career,” Damiani said. “It’s a big step, and I’m very happy to be here.”

Damiani’s arrival is a present for new manager Bradley Carnell, who will pick from him and incumbent starters Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo for each game. With Dániel Gazdag, Quinn Sullivan, and Cavan Sullivan running behind them, there is enough firepower to put goals on the board.

“It’s going to take a little bit of time to get him fully integrated, but that’s the exciting part now,” Carnell said. “We know he’s really a philosophy player. He’s aggressive against the ball, holds up the play really well, strong in the air, and a dominating threat in the box.”

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That might not just be in a striker tandem. Carnell deployed a 4-2-3-1 formation at times in the Union’s preseason scrimmages, which raised eyebrows among observers of a team long devoted to a 4-4-2.

Tanner wasn’t surprised that came up.

“I think the 4-2-3-1 is very similar to the 4-2-2-2 we have planned, and we are not playing with wingers,” he said, answering what he knew would be the next question before it was asked. Teams that play 4-2-3-1s usually do so with wingers as the wide players on that line of three, and the Union haven’t signed any true wingers for years.

The Union have players who could fit the bill: the two Sullivans, CJ Olney, Markus Anderson, and David Vazquez. But it still would be a sight to see.

So would that 4-2-2-2, the “box” midfield instead of the “diamond” we’ve seen for a while. Tanner has long wanted to roll that out, and with a new manager at the helm, this might be the time.

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Tanner said he is happy with his winter shopping haul of Damiani, centerback Ian Glavinovich, and defensive midfielder Jovan Lukić. He also indicated there might be one more signing before MLS’s transfer window closes on April 23, though multiple sources have said that player is likely not a centerback.

Glavinovich, incumbent Jakob Glesnes, and 20-year-old Olwethu Makhanya will be the top three, with 17-year-old Neil Pierre, a marquee prospect but not ready to face topflight veterans yet.

“All our new signings are in their best performance age, or are coming to their best performance age, and that’s what we need to do,” Tanner said, with Glavinovich and Lukić both 23.

“Not too many weeks ago, I was sitting here and telling you about the overhaul of the roster, and that’s what we have pretty much completed,” Tanner continued. “And maybe there is something to do in addition, but we need to see what we can get. And also what fits in the budget, because you know in this moment, it’s getting tighter and tighter.”

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Union fans might not like hearing that last part, but there’s some truth to it this time. They have filled their allotment of three Designated Players with Damiani, Uhre, and Gazdag, in an era where having two can get you more roster flexibility — four under-22 special roster slots and $2 million in extra cap space.

The club also has 30 roster spots filled, the maximum unless a young prospect on a first-team contract is assigned to the reserve team for the year. That gives an extra roster spot. The Union have often taken advantage of the rule since its creation a few years ago.

It was quite a coincidence that on the day the Union unveiled a new striker, one of their former ones had his biggest moment yet in Europe. Julián Carranza scored the series-clinching goal for the Netherlands’ Feyenoord against Italy’s AC Milan to clinch a 2-1 aggregate victory, with a 1-1 tie in Milan after Feyenoord’s 1-0 win at home in Rotterdam last week.

Carranza joined Feyenoord last summer after 2½ years with the Union. His 43 goals for the club rank No. 3 all-time.

Milan’s roster includes U.S. men’s national team stars Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah and Mexican striker Santi Giménez — whom the Rossoneri bought from Feyenoord for $36.5 million earlier this month. Giménez scored in the first minute Tuesday to level the series, then Carranza leaped for a header in the 73rd.

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A few hours later, former Union centerback Auston Trusty took Scotland’s Celtic to the precipice of an even bigger upset. Celtic led, 1-0, at German superpower Bayern Munich into the final seconds of second-half stoppage time, which put the series level at 2-2.

Alas, Bayern snatched a winner just before the whistle. Bayern’s Alphonso Davies, a star of Canada’s national team, jumped on a loose ball in front of Celtic’s other American centerback Cameron-Carter Vickers, to tap in the decisive goal.

Trusty’s stats included eight clearances, 43-of-46 passing, and just one foul committed.

The 26-year-old Media native grew up in the Union’s youth academy and started his pro career with the club, playing there until a 2019 trade to the Colorado Rapids. He then moved to England’s Arsenal, Birmingham City, and Sheffield United before joining Celtic last August in a $7.8 million deal.

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