Former Philadelphia Union Academy midfielder joins Rangers FC U18 team in Scotland

Former Philadelphia Union Academy midfielder Julian Anderson has officially signed on with Rangers FC in Scotland, joining the club’s Under-18 team.

The 17-year-old Ocean Township, N.J. native, who has an Italian passport, spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Union Academy, where he played primarily as an attacking midfielder.

He trialed with the Scottish Premiership club over the summer and was announced as a new addition — along with 16-year-old Czech international Krystof Hampl — on Friday. The club’s release thanked the Philadelphia Union and Hampl’s former club for “their assistance during the signing process.”

If Anderson does well enough to earn a first team contract in Scotland, the Philadelphia Union would be due training compensation since Major League Soccer announced in April that they would begin seeking FIFA-administered payments for players who have come through MLS academies and sign a professional contract with a team in another country.

Anderson is verbally committed to play college soccer at the University of Virginia next fall.