Philadelphia Union's Missed Transfers

It's been a reasonably busy season on the transfer front for the Union. The team brought in a number of new faces, got rid of some unwanted players and were generally unable to please the fan base with the majority of their moves. But the Union also missed out on a number of players in the winter and summer transfer windows, so let's have a look at what those players are up to now.

Alejandro Bedoya

Rumors that the Union were looking to secure the services of the USMNT and FC Nantes midfielder weren't really "confirmed" until recently. Bedoya was spotted attending a Union match several weeks ago, but there were no real concrete rumors to speak of. However, a report from Yahoo! Sports stated that the Union were close to signing Bedoya to a $1.2 million deal with a $1 million transfer fee, but the deal was supposedly nixed by Nantes at the last minute leaving the Union to look for other options. Bedoya certainly would have been a huge get for the team, whether or not you think he is worth such a large transfer fee is another story altogether. Bedoya is obviously still with FC Nantes as they look to improve upon their 14th place finish from last season. Ligue 1 is only a mere three games into their season, so it is too soon to tell how Bedoya will fare, but early indications show that he will be used mainly in substitue appearances for the foreseeable future.

Verdict: Love the player, hate the potential cost

William Kvist

Back when Rene Meulensteen was still doing his consulting thing with the Union, Kevin Kinkead reported that the Union were looking to bring in defensive midfielder William Kvist. With the Union looking reasonably solid at the defensive midfield position, the move didn't seem to make much sense. When you add in the fact that Kvist was 30 years old and would have likely commanded a reasonably large salary for a player of his age, the move continued to make less and less sense for the Union. Kvist finished out the year with Championship side Wigan Athletic as they dropped down to League One before moving back to Denmark to play with the club he began his career with, FC Copenhagen.

Verdict: This had bad move written all over it

Andy Delort

Prior to the arrival of Fernando Aristeguieta, the Union were very publicly in search of a young, DP-level striker. Andy Delort, a 23-year-old striker also playing for Wigan seemed to fill all the needs the Union were searching for. The move seemed to be a perfect fit for both parties, the Union needed a striker, and Delort needed playing time as he struggled to carve out a spot in the Wigan starting line-up. Despite reports that the Union and Wigan were close to a deal, things fell apart shortly there after due to Delort's desire to return to France. Delort did indeed return to France, initially to Tours on a loan and then to Caen in Ligue 1 on a permanent deal. He has been of to a decent start thus far with two goals in four games and was named WhoScored's Man of the Match once.

Verdict: Had the potential to be a solid move for the Union

Cezary Wilk

Back in January several Spanish outlets reported on the Union looking to acquire Polish defensive midfielder Cezary Wilk from Deportivo La Coruna of La Liga. Many Spanish and Polish language reports were hastily fed through Google Translate and many were shocked that Deportivo was looking for a $5 million transfer for the midfielder. Much like Kvist, this move simply didn't make sense given the Union's depth at the position and the price certainly scared off any people who may have seen the move as a good one. Let's face it, the Union could have filled their roster for what it would have cost them to acquire a defensive midfielder that didn't appear to be worth $1 million, let alone $5 million. This deal never appeared to result in any serious negotiations if it was even true at all. Wilk ended up missing large chunks of the season due to injury and bad form and recently joined Real Zaragoza of the Segunda League in Spain.

Verdict: Another high-priced bullet dodged

Markus Neumayr

Another winter transfer window rumor that seemed to have Meulensteen's name written all over it. With a name so similar to the FC Barcelona star Neymar, this had to be a good signing. However, this player was plying his trade in the Swiss Super League and not in La Liga and with Cristian Maidana on the roster it didn't make much sense to add another attacking midfielder into the fold. Nothing ever came of the initial rumor and Neumayr is still playing with FC Vaduz in Switzerland.

Verdict: Not losing sleep over this

Santiago Dittborn and Rodolfo Zelaya

Now for two of the Union's most recent trialists.

Dittborn was spotted at Union training back in July and was confirmed as a trialist soon after. The central midfielder spent several weeks with the club, and was by all accounts doing well with the team. Since central midfield is easily the strongest aspect of the team, Dittborn's trial came to an end. He was spotted a few weeks later trialing with the New York Red Bulls where he underwent another unsuccessful trial. By all accounts he is still a free agent.

Zelaya joined the club around the same time as Dittborn and had an equally short and unspectacular trial with the club. Shortly after joining the team he moved on elsewhere and has not signed with a team since.

Verdict: Didn't miss anything special here