Photo: Ben Ross Philadelphia Union II’s MLS NEXT Pro season came to an end on Saturday, losing 1-0 to Toronto FC II in the Eastern Conference playoffs. With the season over, it is time to discuss its players.
Player development will continue via post-season “friendlies” against appropriate local and regional fourth division sides. Logic and precedent suggest such friendlies may occur until late November. But no details beyond the general expectation are yet known.
The player discussion will appear in four parts.
- Our estimate of the pipeline (today).
- First-teamers (Friday, September 30)
- Amateurs (Wednesday, October 5)
- Union II professionals (Thursday, October 6)
Discussions will reflect all matches PSP has seen prior to publication.
The Union’s organizational pipeline
As background and overview for the next three segments, we estimate the older end of the Union’s professional developmental pipeline as of September 26th. Including or excluding an amateur is the hardest judgment. This year they are 2005 or 2006 birth-year players.
Unless a 2006 player has played more than “cameo” minutes – 30-50 minutes in two or more appearances as an arbitrary benchmark – the player is not included, except for a goalkeeper. For the 2005s inclusion judgments reflect the United Premier Soccer League’s Union Development Squad schedule and roster.
For the first teamers, since Jeremy Rafanello, Richard Odada, and Abasa Aremeyaw have only recently — or not yet — arrived, we place them at the bottom of their position categories unless observation already indicates otherwise. Rafanello is placed with the strikers not the attacking midfielders because that is where he had appeared prior to the Pachuca exhibition match.
All contract information below is neither official nor definitive. Future details of first Homegrown contracts were never made public until Rafanello’s. Second-team professional contract details also have not been announced. Amateurs sign zero-dollar contracts that preserve their amateur standing for future post-secondary play.
Lesser known players are bold-faced. Ages are as of 9/6/22. “O” in front of the year means the club has an option to keep the player for that year.
|
Goalkeeper |
Age |
Contract status |
|
| Andre Blake |
31.8 |
22, 23, 24, O 25 |
|
| Matt Freese |
24.0 |
22, O 23, O 24 |
|
| Joe Bendik |
33.4 |
O 22 |
|
| Brooks Thompson |
20.3 |
22 |
|
| Andrew Rick |
16.6 |
amateur |
|
| Left Back | |||
| Kai Wagner |
25.6 |
22, O 23 |
|
| Matt Real |
23.2 |
22 |
|
| Anton Sorenson |
19.6 |
22 |
|
| Maike Villero |
21.6 |
22 |
|
| Left Center Back | |||
| Jack Elliott |
27.0 |
22, 23, 24, O 25 |
|
| Right Center Back | |||
| Jakob Glesnes |
28.4 |
22, 23, 24 |
|
| Brandan Craig |
18.4 |
22 |
|
| Nathan Nkanji |
21.0 |
22 |
|
| Abasa Aremeyaw |
19.1 |
22, 23, 24, O 25, O 26 |
|
| Right Back | |||
| Olivier Mbaizo |
25.1 |
22, 23 |
|
| Nathan Harriel |
21.4 |
22 |
|
| Frank Westfield |
16.7 |
Amateur |
|
| Defensive Midfielder | |||
| Jose Martinez |
28.1 |
22, O 23, O 24 |
|
| Richard Odada |
21.8 |
22, 23, 24, O 25, O 26 |
|
| Jesus Bueno |
23.4 |
22, 23, O 24, O25 |
|
| Cole Turner |
21.4 |
O 22 |
|
| [Maike Villero] |
21.6 |
22 |
|
| Left Center Midfielder | |||
| Leon Flach |
21.5 |
22, O 23, O 24 |
|
| Jack McGlynn |
19.2 |
22 |
|
| Boubacar Diallo |
19.7 |
22, 23 |
|
| Right Center Midfielder | |||
| Alejandro Bedoya |
35.4 |
O 22 |
|
| Quinn Sullivan |
18.4 |
22 |
|
| Juan Perdomo |
21.6 |
22 |
|
| Attacking Midfielder | |||
| Daniel Gazdag |
26.5 |
22, 23, O 24, O 25 |
|
| Paxten Aaronson |
19.0 |
22 |
|
| Bajung Darboe |
15.8 |
Amateur |
|
| Carlos Paternina |
21.4 |
22 |
|
| Strikers | |||
| Mikael Uhre |
27.9 |
22, 23, 24, O 25 |
|
| Julian Carranza |
22.3 |
22, 23, O24 |
|
| Cory Burke |
30.7 |
22, O 23 |
|
| Chris Donovan |
22.1 |
22 |
|
| Jeremy Rafanello |
22.4 |
22, 23, O 24, O 25 |
|
| Stefan Stojanovic |
21.5 |
22 |
|
| Jose Riasco |
18.6 |
22 |
|
| Nelson Pierre |
17.5 |
22 |
|
| Marcos Zambrano |
17.6 |
Amateur |
|
THANK YOU!!! Trying to keep track of everyone’s contract status is tough with contracts randomly announced through the season.
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I fully appreciate being able to see everything in one spot!
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Looking forward to the rest of the series to see an early look at Union rosters at the various levels for next year!!!
Once the first team’s 2022 fate is known, it will be time for roster decisions and the expansion draft.
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There is a piece already drafted on the expansion draft, free agency, and the 2023 side’s initial composition. It will likely not run until it is time to turn attention to next season.
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The third section will tell you who is guaranteed to return for 2023, for whom the club has an option to bring them back, and who is out of contract. The piece will get updated as needed between now and its date of publication.
I have corrected the contract information about Olivier Mbaizo by adding 2023.
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I infer that because the Players Association did not list him as a free agent.
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As I read the rules of free agency, he would have qualified had he not had a guaranteed contract for 2023. When his new deal was announced last year it only said “multi-year” and did not list the specific years so I had been uncertain until I saw the Players’ Association list.