Photo courtesy Philadelphia Union

Here is a depth chart using the 24 — or 23 — players the Union have announced as retuning for 2026.

*[Ezekiel Allodah] – reported in the Swedish press and on American social media. Not officially announced by either club yet.

**[David Vazquez] – the Union’s official end-of-season Roster Decisions announcement states that San Diego FC has through Sunday, November 30^th, 2025 to exercise its option  permanently to acquire Vazquez. We write before that decision has been made known.

Two arbitrary judgments

We have pushed Milan Iloski forward into the strikers’ line. We do so because that is where San Diego had played him when he effervesced so spectacularly early last summer.

And we have followed our instinct that CJ Olney’s personality may better suit him to be a defensive midfielder in Carnell’s system rather than an attacking one. When he returned to the club from his loan to Lexington SC, that is where he played for Union II and he did so effectively.

Observations

Center back depth immediately jumps off the page, gesticulating wildly to indicate a need since there are only two of them who are MLS-ready.

Nathan Harriel can and has shifted inside because Frankie Westfield and Mbaizo provide capable depth at outside back. But in a press conference at the beginning of last fall, Carnell said in effect the Neil Pierre’s current readiness for MLS had only reached its earliest stages. A third CB glares as an urgent need.

We have no idea whether the first team rates 2025 Union II mainstay left center back Rafael Uzcategui of Venezuela as a serious first team candidate. If they do not, acquiring one seems essential.

Secondly, attacking midfield depth also needs a quality MLS-ready reinforcement. The Union’s 2026 game schedule will have a higher frequency of games than it did in 2025. The World Cup break has increased the frequency of MLS mid-week matches, and the as-yet-unpublished CONCACAF Champions Cup schedule will undoubtedly do the same.

Were Iloski to move into the striker line, Indiana Vassilev would be the only proven starter at attacking mid.

Injured Quinn Sullivan is famously disciplined and determined, but is still rehabilitating himself from his late September knee injury and early October surgery. He cannot be available for the early parts of the season. July 2026 would be ten months from Sullivan’s event, so he might return after the World Cup break, but he would probably not yet have peaked his performance and endurance.

Cavan Sullivan turned 16-years-old late last September and is still engine-building towards playing consecutive midweek and weekend games. And he has yet to prove he can create to change games against the highest-caliber MLS teams. He should be classified as a primary reserve but not yet as a starter.

Jeremy Rafanello is a trusted end-of-game substitute in the midfield. He is intelligent and disciplined. He has not shown that he can create offense during the run of play in first team games. 2026 will be a contract year for him.

Markus Anderson remains unproven at the first team level. As an attacking midfielder at Union II’s level, he caused opponents to game plan to neutralize him. But it is a big jump to the first team. He must be ready to prove himself to Coach Carnell in preseason. 2026 will be a contract year for him also.

As we write we do not know whether David Vazquez will be permanently acquired by San Diego. They hold an option to do so. If he were to return to Philadelphia, he has a guaranteed contract for 2026 and 2027 and has played both attacking and defensive midfield for Union II. At that level he is a ball winner and a chance creator in spite of his physical slightness (5’9″ 140 lbs). He has usually played in the attack as a winger for the coach Michael Nsien’s US U19s and U20s highlighting his positional versatility.

Coach Carnell had given him only one 19 minute substitute appearance before he left for San Diego in July. San Diego started him against Mazatlán and Tigres in the Leagues Cup last summer, but he has only dressed not played in San Diego’s four-game MLS Playoff run. We cannot predict what San Diego will do.

In the last two groups charted above defensive midfield seems set for next year with Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukic and Jesus Bueno as established veterans and CJ Olney the development project. And goalkeeper also seems set even though there are only Andre Blake and Andrew Rick listed. We expect a new contract will be agreed with George Marks as keeper number three since the Union chose to remain in talks with him even though he is out of contract.

And further along in time, we assume Pierce Holbrook will return to the goalkeeping cadre as he recovers from his late August pre-game injury. He is contracted to Union II, but as Jillian Almoney detailed in The One Team We Agree On earlier this year (click here), Holbrook has been on the organization’s goalkeeper radar for a while.

Conclusion

PSP’s crystal ball says at least two MLS-ready roster additions are needed to have a complete group.

•  A third center back, probably from outside the organization unless they like Uzcategui.
• A starting attacking midfielder, origin uncertain but probably from outside.

Almost certainly there will be additions to the off-roster Homegrown segment of of the first team’s group. These are the conditions for that status.

• They must be on their initial MLS contract.
• They must be 21-years-old or younger when signed.
• They must qualify for Homegrown status.

There are four obvious candidates from Union II’s 2025 squad: attacking mids Kellen LeBlanc and Willyam Ferreira, left back Jordan Griffin, and striker Malik Jakupovic.

But striker Stas Korzeniowski is too old at 22.8. And as far as we know, center back Uzcategui did not pass through the Union’s Academy, nor did right back Gio Sequera even though both have played a full season for Union II.