The Philadelphia Union will sign their third ever Homegrown Player, and second in the past three months, by the end of the week, a source close to the situation told the Brotherly Game. Christian Hernandez is one of the few non-contract players still with the Union in Florida, but he's set to end that distinction over the next couple of days.

Currently well into their 2012 preseason, the Union have been slightly more open than previous years in regards to non-contract players and trialists in the team's camp. Both Chase Harrison and Chris Konopka have been revealed by the team as trialists, and Hernandez has routinely made appearances in the Union's photos and write-ups.

The 18-year-old was named the 2011 U-18 Academy Player of the Year by the United States Soccer Development Academy (USSDA). Hernandez also starred for New Jersey high school powerhouse St. Benedict's Prep, alongside fellow Union academy member Christiano Francois.

Hernandez will count as an international player this season, as the midfielder is a Mexican citizen, according to the source. The Union recently acquired a 2012 international roster spot from the Galaxy in a trade that sent midfielder Kyle Nakazawa to Los Angeles.

Based upon his recent Twitter account handle name change (from @easydoesit_10 to @C_Hernandez31), Hernandez will wear No. 31 in 2012. He joins Zach Pfeffer and Jimmy McLaughlin as current Home Grown Player signings on the Union.

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The Philadelphia Union announced today that the team has signed five players, including four rookies from the 2012 MLS SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft.

SuperDraft selections Greg Jordan and Raymon Gaddis join fellow draftee Chandler Hoffman as members of the Union, while Krystian Witkowski and Antoine Hoppenot are the only two Supplemental Draft picks from any season under contract for Philadelphia.

Jordan provides depth at center midfield and is thought to be a possible option as center back depth. Gaddis is a highly talented right back, with a lot of speed, who was bothered by injuries during his senior year at West Virginia University.

Hoppenot had good final season in NCAA play, but failed to make enough of an impression to warrant a SuperDraft pick. Witkowski most likely caught the eye of Union head coach Piotr Nowak from his time with the under-18 Polish national team.

Philadelphia also brought back goalkeeper Chase Harrison, who was originally acquired late in the 2011 MLS season as an emergency goalkeeper pool player. Harrison is one of two goalkeepers on the Union's roster, with Zac MacMath the projected 2012 starter.

Tanzania's coach Jan Poulsen has called up the Philadelphia Union's Nizar Khalfan to the country's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying squad.

The 23-year-old will be available to play for his national team against Mozambique on February 29, which just so happens to be on the same day as both the United States Men's National Team (USMNT)-Italy friendly, and the Chile-Ghana friendly at the Union's PPL Park. He may also appear in a possible friendly against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Union striker Danny Mwanga is originally from, in Dar es Saalaam on February 23.

Khalfan has been a mainstay on the Tanzanian national team since 2006, when he was only 18, making 25 appearances and scoring five goals for the African country.

The midfielder joined the Union through MLS's Waiver Draft, after Khalfan was let go by the Vancouver Whitecaps after playing in 22 games and scoring once in 2011.

Asamoah Gyan's weekend was full of surprises for Ghanian soccer fans. The striker wrote a letter to the country's football association (FA) informing the national team's leadership that he would be retiring "indefinitely" from international play.

The 26-year-old has claimed that he has not fully recovered psychologically from missing a crucial penalty in the 120th minute of Ghana's loss to Uruguay in the 2010 World Cup Quarterfinals. Gyan went on to miss another crucial penalty, this time against Zambia in the Africa Cup of Nations Semi-finals.

The Ghanian FA quickly went into damage control mode, racing to reach Gyan before he fully made up his mind of the letter based decision. After some deliberation, vice president Jordan Anagbla and other members of the FA were able to convince Gyan to come back to the national team, although it won't be until September.

Al-Ain's forward (loaned from Sunderland of the English Premier League) was supposed to be one of the stars of the Chile-Ghana international friendly at PPL Park.

The February 29th game will still - as of right now - feature such Chilean and Ghanaian stars as Andre Ayew (Marseille, France), Michael Essien (Chelsea), John Mensah (Lyon), and Matías Fernandez (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Eduardo Vargas (Napoli), Humberto Suazo (Monterrey, Mexico) and Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez.

PPL Park is hosting an international friendly between the national teams of Chile and Ghana, according to the Philadelphia Union. The kickoff time is set at 7 p.m. on February 29, a Wednesday night.

Andre Ayew (Marseille, France), Michael Essien (Chelsea), Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain UEA), John Mensah (Lyon), and Chile will bring Matías Fernandez (Sporting Clube de Portugal), Eduardo Vargas (Napoli), Humberto Suazo (Monterrey, Mexico) and Barcelona's Alexis Sanchez, per a press release from Oze Sports LLC, which organized the event.

The team's press release its partnership with the Philadelphia Eagles, of the National Football League (NFL), as the reason for the friendly happening at PPL.

"We've committed to bringing world-class soccer to the Philadelphia region as part of our partnership with the Eagles," Union CEO and Operating Partner Nick Sakiewicz told PhiladelphiaUnion.com, "and we've done that once again with two teams that advanced past the group stage of the 2010 World Cup."

Tickets will go on sale starting at 3 p.m. today, with season ticket holders getting first dibs through a pre-sale prior to the general sale. The friendly's ticket prices start at $40 for endline seats ($40-60), and continue upward with sideline seats costing $55-75, midfield seats $70-90, club seats $80, Managers Row seats $150 and field seats $150.

PPL Park is set to host its third ever international friendly, according to an article out of Chile.

Chilean news outlet La Tercera is reporting that the Philadelphia Union's home will be the location of a February 29 friendly between Chile and Ghana. "The swanky modern stadium" was apparently the top choice after MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.

While neither country's football administration (FA) has officially confirmed PPL Park as the friendly's site, Ghanaian Kanduri Moses, FIFA's agent overseeing the friendly, has apparently stated that the game will take place at the Chester stadium.

A $1 million down payment from one of the parties has yet to be placed, making it possible that either PPL won't end up as the host site, or that Ghana could cancel the friendly, according to La Tercera.

Considering the short amount of time between now and the February 29 date set in the article, it seems somewhat unlikely that the friendly will occur. Without an official announcement of the friendly, less than 12 days to market and sell tickets will result in less than favorable crowd turnouts, especially for a weekday game.

Previously, Colombia and the United States Men's National Team (USMNT) played to a 0-0 draw at PPL Park, with former Union goalkeeper Faryd Mondragon (then not yet with Philadelphia) starting for the visitors. The Park also hosted the United States Women's National Team (USWNT) against China in October of 2010, which also ended in a draw, 1-1.

(H/T to the guys who do MLS's Kickoff)

The under-23 United States Men's National Team will feature three Philadelphia Union players in camp and against the Mexico under-23 national team 29, per a press release from the team.

Under-23 head coach Caleb Porter selected Freddy Adu, Jack McInerney and Amobi Okugo, all members of the Union, the most players from any single team included on the roster. Philadelphia had five players in camp with the under-23 team multiple times, with starting right back Sheanon Williams, and new starting goalkeeper Zac MacMath also participating.

The three players will join their teammates in a 10-day camp on February 19, culminating in a friendly against Mexico's under-23 team on February 29.

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[UPDATE: Philipakos has since removed the tweet and picture without providing reason for doing so.]

Krystian Witkowski has signed a contract with the Philadelpia Union, according to Ted Philipakos, his agent.

The 2012 Supplemental Draft second rounder (thirty second overall) became the second member of the Union's draft class to sign with the team and MLS (the other being Chandler Hoffman, who signed a Generation Adidas contract prior to the SuperDraft). Piotr Nowak, the Union's head coach, has said recently that he believed that the team would sign the remaining rookies with the team in Florida.

A former Polish under-18 international, Witkowski was a star at Marist during his collegiate career. He was awarded three consecutive All-MAAC First Team selections, in part for scoring 21 times, and assisting on 19 other goals, in 71 games at Marist. The 21-year-old is the first ever Marist alumnus to sign a professional contract with MLS.

Witkowski holds both Polish and American citizenship, meaning that he will not count as an international player on the Union's roster. The Union have one international roster spot open currently, acquired in the trade that sent former midfielder Kyle Nakazawa to the LA Galaxy.