The 22-year-old Gabe Segal and New York City FC have split up for the second time after the team announced his trade to Houston Dynamo.
The terms of the deal, which were disclosed by both teams, state that Segal would go to Houston in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, with NYCFC holding a portion of any future transfer fees received for the former Stanford attacker.
On February 9, Tom Bogert of The Athletic initially revealed that Segal will be sold to the defending US Open Cup champions.
Segal’s transfer to Houston may indicate that the NYCFC will soon add a new striker. For several weeks, there have been rumours that 18-year-old Jovan Mijatović of Red Star Belgrade will soon sign with NYCFC. The young striker has shared photos of himself on Instagram, talking about his trip to the city, and for a short while, he listed NYCFC as his current team.
After spending the entire year in the German FC Köln reserve squad, Segal played for NYCFC, Hapoel Tel Aviv, NYCFC again, and currently Houston Dynamo. Due to the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing conflict, Israel’s league suspended play, which further complicated the short-lived relocation to Hapoel Tel Aviv.
The native of Maryland will now look to his new Western Conference team for some continuity. Houston is bringing in Segal, perhaps partly as a result of forward Corey Baird’s departure. Baird signed a free agent contract with FC Cincinnati after making 48 appearances for Houston in all competitions in 2023.
Segal, on the other hand, proved to be a fantastic bargain acquisition for NYCFC: in 2023, he made the league-minimum salary of $67,360 and scored two (very important) goals in 12 appearances across all competitions for the team.
In a season where the New York City FC squad narrowly missed the MLS Cup Playoffs by two points, Gabe Segal’s two goals during his tenure there directly converted into two points collected for the team. Gabe Segal’s time with NYCFC was brief and erratic, but it was undoubtedly memorable. After months of ups and downs, he will now try to establish himself as a regular member of the Houston Dynamo attack and stabilise his club career.
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