The New York Red Bulls have acquired striker Sebastien Le Toux from the Vancouver Whitecaps for midfielder Dane Richards and allocation money, the team announced today.
Due to the timing of the trade, Le Toux will be at training for the Red Bulls on Saturday and available to play in Sunday's match against the Seattle Sounders.
"Sebastien is one of the premier attacking players in the League and someone who we have admired for a long time. He will be able to play a number of different positions and will be an important piece for us as we challenge for the MLS Cup this year," said Red Bulls General Manager and Sporting Director Erik Soler. "We also want to wish Dane the best of luck in Vancouver. He has been a great player for our club and it was a difficult decision to trade someone of his quality."
Le Toux has scored four goals and an assist for the Whitecaps this season in 19 matches (18 starts). The former Philadelphia Union captain has scored 30 goals and has 24 assists in his 109 MLS match career. Richards has been underperforming for New York this season. He has just one goal and two assists in 17 matches. Richards has only scored on 5.9 percent of his shots in 2012 (his career average is 12.1 percent). Le Toux has scored on 19 percent of his shots this season and 13.7 percent of his career.
For more on the Red Bulls 2012 season, stay tuned to our StoryStream. See SB Nation's Once A Metro for more discussion of the Red Bulls.