Eric Miller Makes Dream Return to Minnesota

It was a jarring announcement earlier this week when Minnesota United announced it had dealt winger Sam Nicholson to the Colorado Rapids for Woodbury native Eric Miller.

On a couple of levels it's a move that makes an immense amount of sense:

1. Miller, 25, is one of the best soccer players to come out of Minnesota in the last decade. Adding him from a marketing standpoint is an absolute coup.

2. Miller's resume highlights a reliable yet versatile defender, a welcome sight for a Loons team that has struggled to defend throughout its MLS tenure. Not to mention, Minnesota is light on defenders in general. Then add in that Marc Burch is likely out for the foreseeable future (knee surgery) and Tyrone Mears has struggled mightily to stay healthy thus far this season.

But it is a fascinating decision by the Loons brass as Nicholson is a beloved member of the squad and at 23 years old, he represents a player with a potentially high ceiling. Additionally, being around the team it was clear that Nicholson was especially close Harrison Heath, head coach Adrian Heath's son.

"Sometimes you have to give up something you don't particularly want to, to get things done," Adrian Heath said.

The primary thinking behind the trade, Heath said, was squad depth. The team feels as though they have plenty of depth in wide areas but defensively things are slim, especially with Marc Burch having a knee operation Friday. Tyrone Mears is already listed out for Saturday. Jerome Thiesson has had to play both left-back and right-back at different times this season to compensate for injuries to others.

United has had interest in Miller for some time, Heath said, as they inquired about him even prior to the trade deadline. He said Colorado would only do the deal if it included Sam Nicholson.

"We just thought it was a deal that we had to do at this moment in time," Heath said. "Very difficult because he's a great kid, he's incredibly popular with the guys here and with the supporters. But, as I've said, you get paid to make the right decision, not the popular one."

Heath said they talked in great detail with Sam Cronin to vet Miller.

"The people who've worked with him couldn't speak highly enough about him as a kid and as a professional," Heath said.

When asked if he could feature this weekend Heath he thinks it's a possibility and added that Miller will for sure be in the squad. "There's every chance he could be involved," Heath said.

Heath made a stark announcement that suddenly the team is facing numerous minor injuries. He said 11 players are currently facing injuries as of Friday morning.

"Which is incredible because three or four weeks ago we were talking about how lucky we've been with injuries," Heath said. "So that'll teach you not to open your mouth again."

United listed nine players on its injury report for Saturday's match. Compare that to Vancouver's one: Kei Kamara, who is questionable.

The most noteworthy injury this week is Christian Ramirez, who is listed as out with a right hamstring strain.

Maximiano, the Brazilian defensive midfielder who has yet to feature for United, participated in this week's closed scrimmage for about 60 minutes. Heath said there's a chance he's involved versus Vancouver but the likelihood he starts is a stretch.

Heath said Vancouver will likely play similarly to Houston's style of counter-attacking football, looking to play on the break as much as possible.