Report: Union make offer for Polish defender

According to a Polish transfer “insider” Twitter account, the Union have reportedly made an offer for highly coveted Polish center back Jarosław Jach.

Per another report out of Poland, the 6-foot-4 center back is also being sought after by Genoa and two unnamed teams from the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, though a transfer to Germany is “more likely.” Jach turned down a move to FC Rostov of the Russian Premier League last winter, and was targeted by Lazio this past summer. Jach has also been linked to Zenit, Borussia Dortmund, Sassuolo, and Fiorentina in the past.

Transfermarkt values Jach at €1m ($1.2m). According to reports that came out of Lazio’s transfer saga this summer, Jach’s release clause is priced at €2m ($2.4m). The Philadelphia Union’s record transfer fee is still the $1m they spent on Alejandro Bedoya in the summer of 2016.

Jach, 23, plays for Polish side Zagłębie Lubin, which currently sits fifth in the Ekstraklasa. He’s started 17 of the club’s 21 games so far this season after securing a first team spot in 2016. His performance for Zagłębie caught the eye of Poland national team manager Adam Nawałka, who handed Jach his senior international debut last month. Jach went all 180 minutes in Poland’s friendlies against Uruguay and Mexico. Poland only conceded once in those two games, with the goal coming from Poland’s right side.

Jach is a left-footed center back, something that Earnie Stewart has been looking for since he landed in Philadelphia. Here’s Earnie on the importance of signing a left-footed center back from January of 2016, days after Anderson Conceição was loaned in:

The Brazilian started the Union’s season opener in 2016 then fell off the face of the Earth. Richie Marquez and Oguchi Onyewu, neither of whom are primarily left-footed, have occupied the left center back spot over the past two years.

Jach’s arrival—which is admittedly unlikely considering his price tag and the amount of foreign interest he’s garnered—would have serious implications for Auston Trusty, assuming that the Union line up in a 4-2-3-1 once again in 2018. Trusty, who is also left-footed, seemed set to compete for the left center back spot this preseason. It’s certainly possible that he could partner Jach, but smashing the club-record transfer fee on a 23-year-old left-footed center back implies that the Union’s technical staff isn’t too high on the homegrown defender.

What do you think of the Union’s rumored move for Jarosław Jach? Is it too expensive? Unnecessary? Not happening? Let us know in the comments!