Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union Communications

Bruno Damiani is a Uruguayan striker who may join the Philadelphia Union if pending last minute details can be resolved satisfactorily.

He is 22.8 years old, stands between 6’2” and 6’0”, and weighs around 175 pounds according to various data found on the internet. Nacional apparently signed him to a new contract two weeks ago on January 30^th, 2025. He had spent the 2024 season on loan with Boston River where he played well enough to reduce the opportunities given to Union II loan-away Jose Riasco in the 2024 Apertura, after Riasco had been promising in the preceding 2023 Clausera.

An irony is that now, should he arrive in Philly, he joins Riasco’s organization just after the Venezuelan has gone out on loan to Carabobo FC in the Venezuela first division. Judging by the 2024 January roster decisions made by Boston River’s incoming Brazilian head coach Jadson Viera, Damiani is the better player.

Jonathan Tannenwald of The inquirer and Tom Bogert (@TomBogert) and Daniel Saldana (@DaniSaldana5) have reported that the Union are in “advanced talks” (Bogert) “pending some last minute details” (Saldana) for the Union to acquire the striker from his owning Uruguayan club Nacional. Tannenwald and Bogert are very clear that the deal is not yet finalized. If Transfermarkt’s Nacional roster is accurate, in addition to some wingers they have six center forwards among whom Damiani is one. A decision to convert a roster asset to cash may make sense from Nacional’s point of view if the money is right.

Tannenwald reports that a transfer fee of $3.4 million will come from the Union, which would be a Union record. Whether Nacional would continue to own a percentage of Damiani’s contract, a widespread custom in Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay according to Wikipedia, is reported differently by different social media sources. As far as we can tell the custom affects distribution of future sell-on fees as well as support for other player expenses.

As we calculate the Union’s roster unofficially, Damiani would be its 30^th player this year and its eighth international for 2025. Tannenwald and Bogert both say he would be a DP. Per MLS Roster rules he is too old to be a U22 initiative player since he turns 23 in April. Damiani would make the Union’s “special player” pathway for 2025 “3, 3, and 0,” giving up the $2,000,000 of extra GAM (General Allocation Money, aka Garber Bucks) that goes with having only 2 DPs but 4 U22s. The Union have only two U22s, Olwethu Makhanya and Quinn Sullivan.

Tannenwald points out that Damiani would be a Young DP as Caranza was, reducing his cap hit by $543,000 and saving the $150,000 surcharge on a third DP over 24. If Uhre is negotiated down or does not return in the future, the spacial player pathway 4,2,2 returns to feasibility.

A Damiani signing would help explain why Tanner did not offer Jack Elliott the extra money Elliott wanted. As Tannenwald points out, the Union could use another center back for depth. At the moment emergency center back depth is left back Kai Wagner or — once he is healthy — right back Nathan Harriel.

Saldana reports that Damiani’s contract would be guaranteed through 2028. That is the year Cavan Sullivan is expected to depart for Manchester City. No one on the current roster has a guaranteed contract beyond 2028, while only five – teenage Homegrowns Rick, Olney, Pierre, Westfield, and Davis – have options for 2029.

If Damiani is signed and if his signing “hits,” the Union would be back to three proven starting caliber attackers as they were with Gazdag, Carranza, and Uhre. The “unproven” first team strikers would be Donovan, Anderson, and Davis III. And the second teamers would be Sal Olivas, Leandro Soria, and – if they are signed – Diego Rocio and/or Stas Korzeniowski.

The last time both Bogert and Tannenwald reported a signing that had some type of social media rporting from “the other side,” Jovan Lukic was officially announced a few days later.

If Damiani does in fact join the Union, a striker, a midfielder, and a defender will have been signed as Tanner indicated might happen last December in his end-of-season press conference.