Sebastien Le Toux Trade: Philadelphia Union Striker Headed To Vancouver

The Philadelphia Union have reportedly struck a deal to send Sebastien Le Toux, the club's all time leading scorer, to the Vancouver Whitecaps. Le Toux himself has confirmed the deal on twitter. The Union will receive a sum of allocation money return. Le Toux reacted to the news saying it was his "saddest day in his Philadelphia Union story."

Just got traded to Vancouver !Saddest day for me in my Philadelphia Union story.... Still can't believe it

— Sebastien Le Toux (@SebastienLeToux) January 31, 2012

Union fans were breathing a sigh of relief over the weekend when reports broke that Le Toux's possible transfer to the Bolton Wanderers of the English Premier League fell through and it appeared as the club's most popular player and prolific scorer would remain in Philly. Now, he's gone and so far there aren't a whole lot of explanations as to why. Union boss Peter Nowak said only that the team was looking to "invest in the future."

"We wanted to invest in the future," said Nowak. "We have a very good foundation with youth pieces here. We want to keep the group intact and we think this [decision] will make them even stronger. With our resources we have, we'll reinvest in our youth.

"If you want to keep a sustainable, competitive advantage, then you have to create the room," Nowak added. "We don't have the NBA's luxury tax or salary cap, where you can blow the team out of proportion."

One reason may have been that the team completed the permanent transfer of Colombian Roger Torres, who had previously been on loan. The 20 year old Torres says he's "thrilled" to be a permanent member of the Union.

"I'm thrilled to remain in Philadelphia, where I've become comfortable with my teammates and the coaching staff," Torres said in a press release. "I love to play in front of our fans at PPL Park and will continue working hard so I can help the team reach its goals."

In two seasons with the Union Le Toux scored 25 goals and recorded 20 assists in his two seasons with the Union.

For more reaction, check out our Union blog The Brotherly Game.