There were questions when Columbus Crew SC traded Ola Kamara to the LA Galaxy for Gyasi Zardes and $400,000 in Targeted Allocation Money in January. The want-away striker was coming off an 18-goal season, while Zardes had never scored more than 16 goals in a year and was coming off a two-goal campaign where he eventually was moved from forward to outside back.
In the end, it was a good piece of business for Crew SC and sporting director and head coach Gregg Berhalter. Zardes came in and fit seamlessly with the Black & Gold system.