Ian Glavinovich could be a bigger absence than Dániel Gazdag for the Union this weekend

The Union’s $4 million-plus sale of Dániel Gazdag to the Columbus Crew became official on Friday. But for all the talk about his departure from the Union, it’s worth remembering he won’t be the only big absentee in Saturday’s visit to New York City FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

The page now turns to centerback Ian Glavinovich, who will be sidelined for the first time since suffering a torn meniscus last weekend against Orlando. As crucial as Gazdag has been for years, Glavinovich’s absence might be even more critical right now because the Union have so little centerback depth.

Manager Bradley Carnell doesn’t like showing his cards on lineups in advance, but he didn’t have to this week. Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya will start because they’re the only two starting-caliber centerbacks the Union have.

After that, either outside back Nathan Harriel would shift to the center, or Carnell would turn to promising-but-unproven 17-year-old Neil Pierre.

When Carnell was asked at his weekly news conference Thursday whether he puts Pierre or Harriel at No. 3 on the depth chart now, he didn’t answer directly. But he seemed to call it close to a tie.

“I think Neil’s come a great way,” Carnell said. “He’s still learning the tricks of the trade, and we’ve put him into the deep end, and he’s learning to swim. … And then we do have the great options of an outside back rolling in to the centerback position too, if need be.”

» READ MORE: The Union’s trade of Dániel Gazdag isn’t done yet, but Bradley Carnell has to focus on what’s next

Pierre played for the Union’s reserves in a 5-1 rout of Atlanta United’s reserves Thursday at Subaru Park and had a terrific game. He even pitched in a goal along with his defensive work.

But the question about him isn’t about his talents. He’s got all the pieces, including an exceptional passing game. It’s whether at his young age he’s ready yet for the physicality of playing grown men every week, instead of the fellow prospects he faces in the reserve league.

“I mean, Makhanya’s 2 ½ years older. I think Frankie Westfield [is] two, and they seem to have coped just fine, right? Cavan [Sullivan] is 15 [years old], and he’s coping, right?” Carnell said. “We just continue to develop, and we continue to play within our philosophies, and that’s usually the guard rails to get consistently better in terms of how we’re trying to do things, and pushing Neil along. We understand what he has, we understand his ceiling, and we’re nurturing him in the right way, in my opinion.”

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As for Kai Wagner’s abdomen injury, Carnell graded his left back as “still questionable, but I think day-to-day” as of Thursday afternoon. Wagner has missed the last two games, and though he was back in practice scrimmages, he doesn’t seem to be at full strength yet.

“We’re just trying to get him through parts of training to see how he responds,” Carnell said.

It took a while to clear all the paperwork, but Gazdag’s sale to the Columbus Crew finally became official.

As previously reported, the Union received $4 million in cash, and will get up to $500,000 more from performance incentives.

”Since joining the Union, he has been an integral part of the team’s success, and we are deeply grateful for everything he has done for the organization,“ Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. ”At this time, we believe this move is in the best interest of both the club and [the] player. The financial flexibility it provides will allow us to further invest and strengthen our roster while also providing opportunities for other players who we are confident can step into the role."

Tanner added that the move “allows Dániel to pursue what makes the most sense for him in the next chapter in his career. We know Dániel will continue to find great success, and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Gazdag was scheduled to meet with the media in Columbus on Friday afternoon.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.