NASHVILLE, TN – Nashville SC announced a significant trade on Thursday afternoon. The Boys in Gold have acquired 2024 MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman from the LA Galaxy, as well as $100,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money in exchange for midfielder Sean Davis. Nashville will retain a portion of Davis’s 2025 budget charge.
Brugman, 32, joined the Galaxy in 2022 after stints in the top two divisions of Spain and Italy. Since coming to MLS, Brugman has made 65 MLS appearances, logging five goals and 10 assists. The Uruguayan replaced the injured Riqui Puig in the lineup for the Galaxy’s MLS Cup win over the New York Red Bulls, earning MLS Cup MVP honors after setting up both the Galaxy’s goals.
Paintsil in the first 10 minutes. 💥@LAGalaxy // #MLSCup pres. by Audi pic.twitter.com/ekOyozzRGc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 7, 2024
In exchange, Nashville send midfielder Sean Davis to the west coast. Nashville signed Davis as a free agent ahead of the 2022 season, and he played a crucial role in the team during their first two seasons, making 77 regular season appearances (61 starts) in his first two years.
In 2024, Davis often found himself on the outside looking in. He made just 28 appearances (20 starts) in his last season, playing just 44% of Nashville’s available minutes and struggling to break into the team after BJ Callaghan took over. Under the new coach, Davis got on the field for just 8% of potential minutes and played just 82 minutes in Callaghan’s 11 matches.
In Brugman, Nashville have a high-level ball progressor as the lynchpin of their midfield. While he struggled for playing time at points with the Galaxy in 2024, he’s an upgrade to Nashville’s midfield, and should allow box-to-box players like Edvard Tagseth and Patrick Yazbek to cover ground in front of him.
For Davis, he gets a change of scenery and will provide needed midfield depth for the Galaxy with Puig set to miss most of the 2025 season. The Galaxy also get much-needed salary cap relief, shedding Brugman’s $1,409,000 salary from their books while Nashville retain a portion of Davis’s $1,024,000 guaranteed compensation.
While it doesn’t result in more cap space for Nashville, they end up with a player who’s a much better fit for the new direction the club is taking and should improve their performance on the pitch in 2025.
