Photo: Earl Gardner

With fame comes a price. It’s an adage as old as time, and it’s quickly becoming a reality for the Philadelphia Union. For the first time in their history, the Philadelphia Union look poised to make a significant splash in the transfer market within the next few years.

It’s strange to think about the Union doing, well, anything in the transfer market. In their 11 years of existence, their “big” signings have been underwhelming. While clubs across the league have signed exciting South American youth talent and veteran Europeans alike, the Union have never quite found their footing when it comes to making a major signing. Freddy Adu was signed in 2011 and scored seven goals in 35 matches before leaving after less than two full seasons. Marco Fabián never truly found his footing in Philly and failed to leave much of an impact in his one season (despite his playoff game-winner for which I’ll always be grateful). Arguably the most successful major signing the Union have made is captain Alejandro Bedoya. Even then, he wasn’t quite the major star many routinely hope for when it comes time to talk about transfer rumors. 

While the Union have rarely been buyers during transfer windows, they’ve sold even less. Across their 11 years, the Union have only ever sold six players conventionally, the most expensive of which was Auston Trusty for a meager $667,000 before the 2020 season. In the world of football, that’s almost nothing. While MLS rarely sees the mind-boggling transfer numbers of European football, the Union still stand out as one of the least ambitious clubs when it comes to bringing in big-name talent or flipping players for profit.

However, that’s all poised to change thanks to Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie. 

Rumors have surfaced over the last few weeks that one of the main reasons for the MLS is Back tournament was to showcase the talent in the American league to potential European buyers. If this was the intention, then it certainly worked for the Union. Since the tournament kicked off, there have been rumblings that major European clubs are interested in a few of our standout youth talents—namely Aaronson and McKenzie. While Aaronson’s interest comes from a few different Bundesliga sides, McKenzie has been linked explicitly to Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. It’s hard to imagine the Union is keen on getting rid of either player, but if the right number comes around, it may be a hard offer to turn down.

According to transfermarkt.us, McKenzie is valued at $495,000, while Aaronson sits at a cool $1.4 million. With both players under contract until at least 2022, it’s probable that their values will continue to rise. That puts the Union in an exciting situation. It’s likely that in 2022 (or earlier), the Union could find themselves caught between retaining two standout homegrown stars or transferring them for a significant influx of cash. While keeping them seems like the obvious answer right now, the payday for the two could prove tempting. In addition to the obvious profit, sending two young players to major European clubs could establish Philadelphia as a viable destination for athletes hoping to make it to Europe one day. 

With the Union sitting on two potential cash cows, and MLS on the verge of a significant new media deal, it seems the Union could find themselves with a surplus of cash for the first time in history. While it’s easy to get excited about this and speculate about the various transfer rumors that always seem to spin out of control (Ibrahimovic discovery rights anyone?), it’s important to value this for what it is: The first real sign that the Union are a viable destination. Despite a slew of Mexican internationals joining the LA clubs in recent years, and an assortment of older Europeans finding their way into clubs from NYC FC to Orlando, it’s youth that will be the future of any strong squad. Just look at Atlanta. They took home MLS Cup in their second season anchored by a core of young South Americans that few had known prior. If the Union establish themselves as a viable route to Europe, they can hope to attract a similar influx of young talented players, something that could prove incredibly fruitful. 

Whatever the Union decide to do, one thing is obvious. For the first time in their history, the Union find themselves in an overwhelmingly positive situation when it comes to transfers. Selling either player results in an influx of cash that can be used to bolster the roster’s weaker spots, while retaining either (or both) provides established playmakers capable of leading the club to new heights. Of course, there’s the chance that both flounder, their values decline, and we never find ourselves in this dream dilemma of profit or skill, but hey, let’s not think about that right now.