Offseason Transfer Rumor and News Tracker

February 20

Lancaster, Pa. native Keegan Rosenberry has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him with the Colorado Rapids through 2022. Rosenberry was traded to the Rapids in December in exchange for $300,000 in allocation money for 2019 and up to $100,000 in allocation money for 2020 contingent on performance metrics.

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February 19

We’ve heard from multiple sources that Philadelphia Union Academy grad Issa Rayyan has left Duke University to sign a pro deal with Bethlehem Steel FC. The Michigan native was the 2018 ACC Freshman of the Year. Prior to joining the Union, he was a teammate of Steel FC defender Ben Ofeimu at Vardar Academy.

Rayyan’s signing would give the Steel nine out of 12 players needed to meet roster compliance. They have room to sign two more international players. Three internationals have had an extended look in preseason: Costa Rican left back Walter Cortes, Jamaican forward Chavany Willis and Jamaican center back Jamoi Topey. Nathan Harriel, who joined the Union Academy over the winter from Chargers SC, would seem to be a prime candidate to sign a pro deal. An additional player would need to be signed if Michee Ngalina is signed to a first team deal.

February 18

Tommy McCabe has been loaned from FC Cincinnati to North Carolina FC, meaning all three of the players Cincinnati drafted with the Union’s picks will be playing in the USL Championship to start the season. The performance metrics these three players have to meet in order for the Union to get the full additional $50,000 in allocation money in 2020 weren’t disclosed so we have no way of knowing what them playing in USL means.

February 15

Borek Dockal’s transfer fee to AC Sparta Prague was $1.5 million, according to Transfermrkt. The Union acquired his replacement, Marco Fabián, on a free transfer.

February 11

English club Leyton Orient welcomed Jay Simpson back to the club today with an edited Simpsons video.

AC Sparta Prague have agreed to terms to on the transfer of Borek Dockal from Chinese Super League club Henan Jianye FC

Another report has come out in Germany on Union trialist Yomi Scintu signing with the club. There are a few things that don’t add up for it to be a first team signing, including the six forwards currently on the roster and the international roster spot situation (they presently have nine for eight spots but are expecting two green cards soon).

Lancaster, Pa. native Travis Worra announced his retirement on Tuesday. The 25-year-old made 19 appearances for D.C. United and 38 while on loan with Richmond Kickers from 2015-2018.

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February 10

Transfer rumors usually happen before a player signs, but this report from an agent claims 26-year-old Russian left back Yevgeni Chernoy was invited to a trial with the Philadelphia Union and offered a contract but opted to join FC Rostov instead in part because of high taxes. If the report isn’t odd enough, the letter supposedly sent by the Union is even stranger and possibly not even real.

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February 8 Update

Marco Fabián’s transfer to the Philadelphia Union has been finalized. The Union signed him on a free transfer to a one-year deal with two team option years.

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February 6 Update

Kai Wagner was announced as the latest signing to the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday. The Union paid an undisclosed transfer fee for the 21-year-old German left back, who is expected to challenge Matt Real for the starting job.

Sporting Director Ernst Tanner confirmed that there are discussions to bring Mexico international midfielder Marco Fabián to Chester.

February 5 Update

El Tri midfielder Marco Fabián is reportedly close to signing with the Philadelphia Union. If the deal goes through he would instantly be the most high-profile signing in club history.

Trialist Yomi Scintu is reportedly signing with the Philadelphia Union / Bethlehem Steel.

Former Philadelphia Union midfielder Adam Najem has joined Memphis 901 FC ahead of the 2019 USL Championship season. Union Academy grad Morgan Hackworth is one of his new teammates at the expansion club.

February 4 Update

The Union have been named as the MLS club Kai Wagner is headed to in this report.

February 1 Update

21-year-old German left back Kai Wagner has reportedly signed with an unnamed MLS team. Wagner has made 44 appearances for Würzburger Kickers since joining the third division German club in 2017.

It’s probably inevitable that Michee Ngalina ends up on the first team, but his former high school tweeted on Thursday that it may be happening sooner than expected. Jonathan Tannenwald at Philly.com has a source telling him the deal isn’t imminent, which makes sense because there would be a few things that would need to be worked out to add him prior to the season starting. International roster spots and USL Championship compliance are both factors.

Jamaican central midfielder Chavany “Pebbles” Willis is reportedly set to be loaned to Bethlehem Steel from Portmore United.

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January 29 Update

Costa Rican youth international left back Walter Cortes has been linked to Bethlehem Steel FC. The report says the 18-year old will join the Steel on loan from Deportivo Saprissa.

15 unsigned Philadelphia Union Academy players are in Florida for preseason.

21-year-old Costa Rican midfielder Jimmy Marin has been linked to an unnamed MLS club.

Former Philadelphia Union Academy midfielder Morgan Hackworth is now officially a rival of his dad at Louisville City FC. The Strath Haven graduate has signed with Memphis 901 FC in the USL Championship.

Reading United and University of Delaware alum Guillermo Delgado has signed with USL League One side FC Tucson.

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January 24 Update

The first team roster and Steel FC roster have both grown by one over the past day.

Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Miguel Coronel’s signing has been made official. He comes via Red Bull Salzburg on a one-year loan with an option to buy.

Yesterday, the Steel announced the long anticipated signing of Ben Ofeimu, an 18-year-old center back from Michigan. A senior at YSC Academy, Ofeimu decided to forgo his commitment to Penn State to turn pro now.

Former Philadelphia Union winger Marcus Epps, who was selected in the waiver draft, has signed with New York Red Bulls.

Former Harrisburg City Islanders star Jose Barril has returned to Spain, signing with Coruxo FC in the Spanish third division. The 26-year-old spent the last two seasons after leaving Harrisburg in USL with OKC Energy.

Former Philadelphia Union/Bethlehem Steel FC goalkeeper Jake McGuire is headed to Sweden to join third division club Gefle IF.

West Chester, Pa. native and University of Delaware grad Todd Morton is in camp with Orlando City.

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January 22 Update

Aurelien Colllin is officially a member of the Philadelphia Union.

The Philadelphia Union preseason roster has been released and it includes a 21-year-old trialist from fourth division Germany named Yomi Scintu.

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January 21 Update

Veteran center back Aurelian Collin and 22-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Miguel Coronel have both been linked to the Philadelphia Union. Both would likely be depth options for the Union though Coronel will have a chance to start in Andre Blake’s absence for the Gold Cup this summer.

John McCarthy has reportedly found a new home with USL Championship side Tampa Bay Rowdies.

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January 19 Update

Maalique Foster is reportedly heading to Houston Dynamo USL affiliate Rio Grande Valley FC.

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January 18 Update

Jamaican national team midfielder and former New York Red Bulls trialist Maalique Foster has been linked to a loan move to a team in the U.S. and this report has the 22-year-old coming to Chester, which could mean either the Philadelphia Union or Bethlehem Steel. Foster has been on loan from Portmore United with LD Alajuelense in Costa Rica since September. He participated in the MLS Caribbean Combine last January and later made his first and only international appearance to date, scoring a goal on January 30, 2018 in a friendly against South Korea in Turkey.

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January 11 Update

Joshua Yaro has found a new home in USL Championship side San Antonio, where he’ll get a shot to get a career that was slowed by underwhelming returns and injuries in Philadelphia, back on track.

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January 10 Update

The Union have peaced out of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, opting to trade all five of their picks to FC Cincinnati for a guaranteed $150,000 in general allocation money for 2019 and as much as $50,000 more in allocation funds in 2020 depending on performance metrics met by players Cincinnati drafts with the picks.

Bethlehem Steel FC captain James Chambers is returning for 2019 after signing a one-year contract with another year option. The 31-year-old Irishman is also coaching in the Pre-Academy and will be expected to lead a much younger Steel squad in 2019.

Former Bethlehem Steel FC defender Hugh Roberts is on the move again, joining Charlotte Independence after spending the 2018 season with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds.

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January 9 Update

Raymon Gaddis is officially returning for his eighth season with the Union after signing a new deal. His signing puts the first team roster at 22.

Former Philadelphia Union homegrown Cristian Hernandez has signed on with Las Vegas Lights FC for the 2019 USL Championship season. He’s the second former Union player to play for the Vegas side — Freddy Adu spent the 2018 season there but has not be retained for 2019.

Former Union Academy standout out Chad Letts has signed his first pro deal with Belgian second division team Royale Union Saint-Gilloise.

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January 8 Update

West Chester, Pa. native Zach Zandi has been signed to Bethlehem Steel FC for the 2019 season. Zandi recently graduated from Villanova University and played three seasons for Reading United during his college career while also training with the Steel. He spent time wtih Penn Fusion Academy and the Philadelphia Union Academy in high school and graduated from West Chester Henderson High School.

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January 4 Update

MLS has officially announced the 2019 Generation adidas class, which includes former Reading United forward J.J. Williams and six others: UCLA midfielder Frankie Amaya, Syracuse winger Tajon Buchanan, Indiana winger Griffin Dorsey, Virginia Commonwealth winger Siad Haji, UNC defender John Nelson and Maryland goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair

Matt Mahoney is joining fellow former Bethlehem Steel midfielder Drew Skundrich on the West Coast this season at Sacramento Republic FC.

The Bethlehem Steel FC 2019 roster still only has three players: Michee Ngalina, Faris and Selmir Miscic but captain James Chambers is expected to be back. Make that four: Saed Diaz has been acquired via loan for the 2019 season with an option to purchase from Tauro FC in Panama.

Philadelphia Union original Jordan Harvey is coming back for another season with LAFC. The 34-year-old left back has been re-signed to a one-year deal.

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December 21 Update

Harvard goalkeeper Matthew Freese has signed a homegrown deal with the Philadelphia Union. The former Episcopal Academy and Penn Fusion standout spent his senior season of high school with the Philadelphia Union Academy and played two seasons at Harvard.

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December 17 Update

The first team roster has grown from 19 to 22 after the team’s announcement that Fabinho, Warren Creavalle and Kacper Przybylko are returning for 2019, all on new deals (Kacper’s 2019 option was declined).

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December 14 Update

Sergio Santos is officially a member of the Philadelphia Union. The team announced the signing of the 24-year-old Brazilian from the Chilean top flight and Sporting Director Ernst Tanner later confirmed that the team paid his $500,000 buyout clause. They’ll be using an undisclosed amount of targeted allocation money to get his salary down below DP level. Tanner also promised additional signings and said he’s hoping to have news to that end to share in early January.

Lancaster, Pa. native and former PA Classics / Philadelphia Union youth defender Todd Pratzner has signed on with new USL Championship team Memphis 1901 FC. He’s a past Bethlehem Steel FC trialist and a third-year pro, having spent last season with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and the season before that with the Rochester Rhinos.

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December 13 Update

We already knew Marcus Epps wouldn’t be back with the team in 2019, but it is interesting to see that the New York Red Bulls traded a second round draft pick to move up the order in the MLS Waiver Draft yesterday to get him. Hopefully, letting him go doesn’t come back to haunt the Union (but it probably will).

Santi Moar’s signing with USL Championship expansion team New Mexico United was announced yesterday. The 25-year-old was drafted 82nd overall in the 2017 SuperDraft and had two productive seasons with the Bethlehem Steel FC. He received a couple extended looks with the first team, but couldn’t quite get over that hurdle. Lancaster native Drew Skundrich also spent time training with the first team and was in talks to return with Steel FC but will instead be going back to the West Coast to join Sacramento Republic FC.

Former Union homegrown Jimmy McLaughlin has officially made it back to MLS with the announcement of him signing to continue with FC Cincinnati.

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December 10 Update

With only a couple weeks left on his contract and his option already declined for another season, the Union have sent Fabian Herbers to the Chicago Fire in exchange for a second round pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft. The pick will be the 29th overall.

In other deals announced yesterday, former Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath is heading north after being dealt to the Vancouver Whitecaps and Max Urruti has been dealt to Eastern Conference rival Montreal Impact.

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December 8 Update

No idea if the Union are the Eastern Conference team referenced here, but Maxi Urruti would make a lot of sense here in Philadelphia.

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December 7 Update

Álvaro Vargas, president of Tauro FC, said in a video posted on Deportes RPC that Panama U20 forward Saed Díaz is going to the Philadelphia Union. Tauro FC is the club home of fellow Panama youth international Adalberto Carrasquilla, who trialed with Bethlehem Steel in October. While this report mentions the Union, Díaz could be brought in on a USL deal to play for Steel at first.

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December 6 Update

David Accam and CJ Sapong both had disappointing seasons in 2018, but that hasn’t apparently stopped FC Cincinnati from targeting both, according to separate reports from GhanaSoccerNet.

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December 5 Update

24-year-old Brazilian striker Sergi Ramos is reportedly close to a move to MLS and the Philadelphia Union instead of Necaxa and Liga MX.

“They came to see me, he sat down to talk to me, Necaxa only spoke to me on the phone, I noticed that the United States was more personal, which is a nice possibility for my family,” he said in the interview (translated by Google).

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December 3 Update

After a year on the left coast, Oka Nikolov is returning to Chester as an assistant coach and director of goalkeeping.

Our friends at Bavarian Football Works make an interesting case for why Arjen Robben should come to the Philadelphia Union when his time at Bayern Munich comes to an end.

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November 30 Update

Sporting Director Ernst Tanner told Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com that “There is a not a piece of truth” to the Balotelli reports.

Not that Tanner would acknowledge talks if they were going on, but his mentioning of “good negotiations” with “young strikers” is of note.

There’s also this:

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November 28 Update

Kevin Kinkead shares some info passed on by a mysterious source in a column on Crossing Broad.

Among the items are the suggestion that Haris Medunjanin, David Accam and CJ Sapong could be moved and that a DP striker is an offseason priority. A “big name European player like Mario Balotelli” is mentioned in the report.

Article Link

The Union posted a handy map of the places Ernst Tanner is going to scout in the off-season.

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Yeferson Soteldo, 21, Left Winger
Club Universidad de Chile / Venezuela National Team

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Saed Díaz, 19, Forward
Unattached / Panama Youth International

The 19-year-old was last with Tauro FC, the club home of fellow Panama youth international and previous Bethlehem Steel FC trialist Adalberto Carrasquilla.

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Marco Fabián, 29, Attacking Midfielder
Eintracht Frankfurt / Mexico National Team

Fabián hasn’t been specifically linked to the Philadelphia Union but has mentioned MLS as a possible destination.

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