New England Revolution trade Charlie Davies to Philadelphia Union

The former U.S. national team forward joins Alejandro Bedoya as part of the Philadelphia Union's MLS deadline dealings.

The Philadelphia Union's flurry of maneuvering at the MLS transfer and trade deadline concluded with a second significant move featuring a U.S. international and one made with an eye on the playoff push.

Philadelphia acquired forward Charlie Davies from the New England Revolution, trading general and targeted allocation money and the club's 2018 first-round draft pick to the Revs. The move follows the Union's acquisition of Alejandro Bedoya from FC Nantes–he is one of Davies's close friends and former college teammates at Boston College. With the influx of attacking talent, the club also dealt fan favorite Sebastien Le Toux to the Colorado Rapids in exchange for general allocation money.

For Davies, it's a move he apparently wanted, according to Revolution president Brian Bilello:

Very difficult for us. Key was making sure that it was something Charlie wanted for him and his family. Would never have done it otherwise

— Brian Bilello (@RevsPrez) August 4, 2016

Also this is not something we were looking to do. It was brought to us.

— Brian Bilello (@RevsPrez) August 4, 2016

It caps a whirlwind of a few months for the forward, who just returned to action last weekend for the first time since late April after being diagnosed with liposarcoma–a form of cancer–which is now in remission. The life obstacle was the latest in a line of them, dating back to the 2009 car accident that nearly killed him and took the life of another passenger. His wife, Nina, also gave birth to twins prematurely, though they are both home and healthy now.

His story was documented in this Fox Sports interview conducted by his former U.S. national team teammate Stuart Holden:

.@NERevolution striker @CharlieDavies9 beats cancer and is ready to take his life back and return to the field. https://t.co/Soq2kOBc1V

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 31, 2016

The moves strengthen the Union's core as the club looks to make a push toward the top of the Eastern Conference. After starting 7-4-5 and lingering at the top of the East, Philadelphia is 1-4-1 in its last six matches and sits in fourth place, six points behind first-place New York City FC.