Signing News

Union sign Taylor Washington

Philadelphia Union announced on Friday the signing of left back Taylor Washington.

Union sporting Director Earnie Stewart said in a statement, “It was evident from Day One that Taylor entered preseason camp with a focused mentality and committed work ethic in hopes of making our roster. He’s earned his place on the team and he exemplifies the type of professionalism we want at our club. He has a bright future and the ability to immediately contribute at such an important position.”

Washington, 22, was selected by the Union from George Mason University with the third pick of the second round of the 2016 SuperDraft, No. 23 overall.

He is the fourth member of the 2016 draft to be added to this season’s roster, following Joshua Yaro, Keegan Rosenberry, and Fabian Herbers.

With Washington’s signing, the 2016 Union roster now looks like this:

GK (3): Andre Blake (GA), John McCarthy, Matt Jones
DEF (7): Anderson Conceicao (INT’L), Fabinho, Raymon Gaddis, Richie Marquez, Keegan Rosenberry, Taylor Washington, Joshua Yaro (GA/INT’L)
MID (11): Roland Alberg (INT’L), Eric Ayuk (INT’L), Tranquillo Barnetta (INT’L), Brian Carroll, Warren Creavalle, Maurice Edu (DP), Leo Fernandes, Sebastien Le Toux, Vincent Nogueira (INT’L), Chris Pontius, Walter Restrepo
FWD (2): Fabian Herbers (GA/INT’L), C.J. Sapong

DESIGNATED PLAYERS (DP): 1
HOMEGROWN PLAYERS (HG): 0
INT’L ROSTER SPOTS FILLED (INT’L): 7 (Blake, Fabinho, Jones, and Le Toux have green cards)
GENERATION ADIDAS PLAYERS (GA): 3
UNSIGNED DRAFT PICKS (3): Cole Missimo (No. 64) 

17 Comments

  1. I suspect we can change Le Toux back to forward.

    • Time to dump Le Toux he is terrible, bad first touch, can’t pass , weak in the air, can’t beat anyone one on one. runs around like a chicken without a head, decent in crossing, if he was any good he would still be in Europe or the Redbulls, his time has passed the league is much better now

      • el Pachyderm says:

        Such a tough call… while I completely agree he still does manage to score some gols and I bet he’s good for 10 this year…. not to mention he’s a Union institution.
        .
        That said I would not weep for too long either.

      • A bit harsh. I do suspect that a transition will occur this year where he’s not an automatic starter and/or 90 minute player, but don’t think it’s time to release him. They’ve upgraded roster depth and talent, but his work rate, crossing, PKs, and knack for scoring goals still have value, in my opinion. And to el P’s point, he’s a Union institution. Too early to cut bait altogether here.

  2. This makes sense especially being I’ve heard he’s doing great in camp plus some of the game I’ve seen of him has shown him to be very consistent on the field and he knows his position well. I think he could be a very good player 2 – 3 years down the line if handled correctly.

  3. I think the 2 OB we signed are quite good… opinion is out yet on the young CB.

    • Old Soccer Coach says:

      In the immediate short term, El P, I agree with you. The question will be how flexible is the process of migrating between USL and MLS in a wholly owned situation like the Union and BSFC. If it is flexible, he goes to BSFC to get game minutes to learn to avoid those back pass mistakes. Other than those mistakes he has looked like he belongs on the field with the rest of the group, so long term I’d guess the prognosis is good.

  4. I wonder what the thinking is on Ilsinho? Too much $$ for Philly?

    • Old Soccer Coach says:

      My guess is that they won’t pull the trigger until the last possible drop of preseason evaluative opportunity has been squeezed out of the schedule, and that Ilsinho wants them to wait. Every time he looks good, his bargaining position improves.

    • It could be as simple as them not having an available international slot right now- they are at their limit of 7 as things stand.

  5. I’m glad the youth movement is on! Could they be the future?? Could they be a mistake?? Time will tell of course,but how nice to be able to watch it at out?!? I also don’t think we need to worry about “Philly tough!”. How about ” committed, work ethic, professionalism ” I like the sound of that much better!!

    • Old Soccer Coach says:

      The proof is not in the signing, the proof is in how they play in games. The opportunity to compete for playing time has been seized. Now the question is will playing time be won, and if so, where? The ability to flow easily between the two levels is as yet undetermined for us civilian outsiders. Hopefully the team insiders already know.

  6. Glad to see he’s made the team. He’s looked pretty confident so far. As someone else mentioned yesterday, it was nice to see him run stride for stride with Nyarko on Wednesday- no small feat so he definitely has some wheels. Still need a CB and it could be Tribbett.

  7. OneManWolfpack says:

    Good stuff and congrats to Washington. I know the draft is a mega crap shoot, and even almost completely unnecessary, but it is nice to see 4 players signed. That’s some good evaluation.

  8. Roster’s looking gooder and gooder!

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