CJ Sapong signs with Nashville SC

Former Chicago Fire forward CJ Sapong has signed with Nashville SC, the club announced today. The 10-year MLS veteran joins Nashville on a two-year deal, with a club option for a third year.

After two seasons in Chicago, Sapong was informed in the fall he wouldn’t be offered a new contract. He was the Fire’s leading goal scorer in 2019 with 13. But last season, Sapong scored just two goals in four games, after missing several matches to attend to family matters. Sapong’s daughter was born very premature, and coach Raphael Wicky allowed Sapong to spend big chunks of the fall away from the team to spend time with his daughter and fiancee.

“CJ is a proven goal scorer who plays with the energy and enthusiasm needed in successful teams,” Nashville SC General Manager Mike Jacobs said in a news release. “His athleticism and tenacity, coupled with his versatility to play multiple roles across the front line, makes him a handful to play against. He also adds to an attacking corps that really caught fire towards the end of our first season when we had our full complement of players. His addition only enhances that group.”

Before Chicago, Sapong spent time with the Philadelphia Union. He began his career with Sporting Kansas City, where he won the 2011 Rookie of the Year award, the 2012 U.S. Open Cup, and the 2013 MLS Cup.

In Nashville, he’ll be reunited with former Fire midfielder Dax McCarty, and with another former Fire star—David Accam. Sapong and Accam played together in Philadelphia in 2018.