Less than 15 hours after it opened, Austin FC has made its first move of the transfer window.
El Tree acquired reserve center back Brandan Craig from the Philadelphia Union on loan through the rest of the season Wednesday.
In exchange, Austin FC sent its third-round pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft to the Union, with the possibility of $125,000 of general allocation money if Craig hits certain on-the-field marks.
Craig, 19, played on the same under-20 US men’s national team squad as current Austin FC midfielder Owen Wolff last month at the under-20 World Cup in Argentina.
He’ll provide depth at a position El Tree is desperately thin behind starters Julio Cascante and Alex Ring.
Craig has not made an appearance for the Union this season, and it’s possible El Tree isn’t done adding players at the position.
Austin and Philadelphia, which is in the Eastern Conference, do not face each other in the regular season and could only meet in the MLS Cup in the playoffs.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin FC goes after depth at center back with trade