MONTREAL – The Montreal Impact had just lost 2-0 to the Seattle Sounders and Andrew Wenger was in the middle of the locker-room, solemnly standing still.
It was the last game before Marco Di Vaio’s return to the lineup and it was Wenger’s last chance to prove himself, to show that he had turned a corner. But he hadn’t done so and he knew it too. He was at a breaking point, almost in tears.
This past Friday, a little over two weeks after that loss to Seattle, Wenger, 23, was traded to the Philadelphia Union for fellow American forward Jack McInerney.
The trade took many in Montreal by surprise; and it wasn’t so much for the fact that the Impact were willing to let Wenger go, but for what they were able to get in return.
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After being selected first overall in the MLS SuperDraft in the Impact’s expansion year in 2012, Wenger was burdened with high expectations and he turned out to be a massive disappointment. His versatility was considered his greatest strength, but it proved to be his downfall.
“I’m a jack-of-all-trades, an ace of none,” Wenger said of himself at the time, and that description still suits him today.
Though having played as a forward ever since he joined the Impact, Wenger never blossomed in that position; if anything, he was average at best.
McInerney has had his fair share of ups and down over the years but the 21-year-old has shown signs that he could become a quality striker. Wenger, on the other hand, has shown nothing to suggest the same; his goal scoring record has been dire and he lacks the technical abilities and understanding of the movements required for the role.
Jesse Marsch, the erstwhile coach who drafted the Pennsylvania native, considered Wenger a long-term project, but the Impact have yet been offered any indication that he’s worth the wait; they did however try to remain hopeful for as long as they could and supported Wenger for as long as he was in Montreal.
As recently as this year’s draft, Montreal turned down a Philadelphia trade offer for him. With Di Vaio missing the first three games of the season, Wenger was going to lead the attack for the Impact to start the year and the club was willing to give him one last chance. The first game in Dallas went well with Wenger getting his name on the score sheet, but by the third match against Seattle, it was clear that things hadn’t changed.
Of course, McInerney could very well disappoint too. For one, it might be difficult for Di Vaio and McInerney to play together considering just how similar both players are, and there’s always a chance that McInerney decides to leave Montreal at the end of the season when his contract option is up.
But the more the Impact held on to Wenger the worse his situation would likely have become. Remaining in Montreal might very well have completely ruined his career. Now was the best time to move Wenger and a change of scenery should do him some good.
For the Impact, the opportunity to acquire a forward who can at the very least offer more quality depth in the short term and who could potentially replace Di Vaio for years to come was one too good to pass up on.
After the trade was made public, Impact president Joey Saputo took to his twitter account to thank Wenger for his time with the Impact and assured him of his place in the club’s history.
And then in his next tweet, Saputo welcomed McInerney to Montreal.
“Let’s write a new page,” Saputo said, wanting, perhaps, to quickly forget the one written just before.
Nick Sabetti is a Montreal-based writer. Follow him on Twitter.