Who is the most likely young homegrown player to get minutes this season. Not talking Fontana but one of their newer signed players.
With Gaddis' retirement, there's an opening at RB. That's an opportunity for Harriel, but I'd guess that Olivier Mbaizo has the inside track so far. The answer could actually be Jack de Vries. It looks like he's going to be in the forward rotation based on how preseason has gone so far. I do think some of their 03s+04s will get spot minutes this year, but I'm not entirely sure who. Anyway, Philly II is going on a barnstorming tour this year because they are league-less in 2021. Here's the first match report: https://www.philadelphiaunion.com/p...nets-five-victory-over-vereinigung-erzgebirge
I think of the younger players, McGlynn is the most ready to play, and I think he could be a big breakout player, if he does play. Aside from that, it’s probably going to be Fontana, Real, maybe Harriel, de Vries or Turner, and Freese playing any games Blake doesn’t. The younger players are more likely a year away.
Watching the amount of Union I watched last year, I thought for the first time that Gaddis didn’t look good. I, at a time before then, thought he was a January camp level rb. I watched Mbaizo play too and it wasn’t that he was a bad rb, it almost looked like he would be better being an undersized CB option. I watched a fair bit of Philadelphia II, I thought Harriel looked quality enough to be an MLS level rb. So for me it’s Harriel. It’s a good scenario because even losing McKenzie their backline is so competent and they got the guy from Scotland. So you can kind of ‘hide the young guy’ it. I could see it being Aaronson too though. He’s not the best prospect of the 03s from what I’ve seen at the USL level, but I think he may be the most impact ready. He’s got the je ne sais quoi of a Caden Clark to me.
Not sure it’s that. Paxten is still about a year younger than Brenden was when Brenden made his MLS debut. Anything is possible, but I don’t think it’s a negative view of Paxten to think that we won’t see much until 2022.
Paxten will take longer than Brendan in my opinion. Pax isn’t a player who buzzes around the field constantly causing problems for the other team and is more of a player that specializes in creating danger in the final third. Because of this Paxten won’t have as much value in the team at a young age like Brendan did unless he is able to be a true killer in the MLS at a young age which I’m unsure of because he hasn’t displayed that in USL yet Jack McGlynn is the most pro ready of the 4 03 and younger homegrowns but I think he has the lowest ceiling among the quartet as well. Brandan Craig has the most potential but because he’s trying to become a CB will likely take the longest but he has tools in his game that could take him to a very good level in Europe
My age group thoughts on the Philly academy: 2003’s: There’s quite a few Anthony Fontana/Matt Real level prospects and then there’s Jack McGlynn, Paxten Aaronson, Anthony Sorenson, and Dante Huckaby who I think are a step above. There’s other 03’s they have who are good but with the younger talent are expected to be passed on for HG deals. This has only happened at Dallas before but now Philly have the same level of talent output. 2004: Brandan Craig and Quinn Sullivan are very very talented. Samuel Jones (LCB) is probably the next CB homegrown and deservedly so. Outside of these three there isn’t much from this group. A couple will make it to their USL team but will likely follow the path of Selmir Micsic and Patrick Bohui and crash out of the Philly system 2005: The huge prospect here is Diego Lopez who could very well be the best 6 in the 2005 age group and a superior prospect compared to both Reed Baker-Whiting and Jordan Jones. Diego is just quality. Nelson Pierre is the other big 05 talent that is on a HG track but needs to improve his soccer IQ or his career will flatline as an MLS starter at best. Marcelo Mazzola normally would be a HG talent but needs to find a new club now that Philly has better in their 06 class 2006: Philly lost super talent Aaron Heard and replaced him with fellow super talent Bajung Darboe who’s already with the second team. Bajung barring an injury is Europe bound and a freak talent who also has the right work ethic to succeed long term. Gael Medrano is the second biggest 06 prospect and is the academy’s best striker. I would be very surprised if Gael doesn’t get USL minutes this spring. After that the other notable talents are LCB/LB Alex Perez who is new from Vegas and a YNT darkhorse candidate and Jack Brown who is a late bloomer but in my opinion is the highest IQ prospect the academy has and has a europe level ceiling. Jack currently is too small for the u17 level or he’d likely be their starting 10. He is also one to watch for the 2025 u20 cycle once he’s fully grown, his skill and IQ are fantastic. Simply put, if he was bigger he’d be the best 10 in the 2006 age group, truly one to watch 2007: Henry Bernstein is the only 07 that plays up with the 06’s and is really the only one on track to be a pro for Philly. I’d say Dallas are superior here but they only have Bryce Miller in their 07’s so it looks like both of the top dogs are struggling here. Henry is an excellent number 8 prospect and the best player in the Philly 06’s. He is likely a YNT lock because he’s so good and very well rounded 2008: This age group is as fruitful as the Dallas 05’s. Kellan LeBlanc is a mega talent and likely the best 08 in the country. He also has Marlon LeBlanc, the Union 2 coach, for a father so you know his extra curricular schedule is nothing but soccer skill/IQ development. If Kellan wasn’t so small he could play with the 06’s or even the u17’s. Like Pulisic’s childhood footage you can’t say anything but “wow” when you watch this kid. Also for the 08’s are Jordan Griffin, Gabriel Wesseh, and Connor Murphy who are all very talented prospects themselves. These were the kids along with Kellan from the videos of the Philly u12 team who went down to Brazil and slaughtered a bunch of the top Brazil academies. Just an absolutely stacked collection of talent 2009: Because this gets to the age of the kids who are just flat out too young to project there’s only one kid worth talking about: Cavan Sullivan. Cavan is Quinn Sullivan’s younger and way more talented brother. Cavan already trained at Borussia Dortmund and is good enough to be with the Philly 07’s as an 09. Cavan comes from a very well connected soccer family and from a large group of people I’ve talked to is the best talent by a big margin. When the people who have worked in soccer professionally whether as a scout/coach/player say this then it’s no longer speculation, the kid is just flat out good. With his Germany passport it will be hard to keep him in America when he turns 16 because at the rate he’s going he is Europe bound For the other 2009/2010’s there will be more names that will pop up because just like the 2008’s these groups are loaded. These kids are slaughtering every team in their path whether fellow MLS academy or not. I can’t fathom how they honestly put together teams this good at that age that they’re ending half’s at 6-0 or more against quality clubs like DC United and NYRB and hardly look like they’re trying. These kids are pulling out tricks that at other clubs the best prospects aren’t doing in games until the u14 level.
The other big thing to point out about Philly is their scouting. They’re finding and successfully recruiting talent at a rate that no other academy currently comes close. This is a huge factor for why they are quickly surpassing Dallas for the total volume of talent
The summery is good and all, but need to know about the Union Prospects that are in T-K and Kindergarten. Got to be some standouts in Union's Academy Soccer Shots Program.
See this is working out like I hoped. Many more detailed posts now that the Philly knowledgeable aren't worried about hogging the other thread. Now we just need more of the other teams to step up enough to get demand for their own thread.
I had a little internal chuckle because I thought he didn't look good for several of his early years as an autostarter--then he certainly improved gradually.
The good news is Philly has already set a clear pathway for getting players from youth to Europe. Dallas had a harder time making that pathway but has obviously done that as well.
Two players I want to make comments on. Harriel, I think he's going to be a player to follow this season. Thats not because I think he's so great, but because he has a skill-set that isn't what you'd think. Stereotypically, most would suspect he's a defensive fullback because he's an average sized black fullback with good speed. People would want to compare him to Cannon, Duncan, Gloster, Lindsey, Olosunde due to his athletic profile and race. However, I find that he's a lot better offensively than defensively. I think he's a pretty good passer and crosser for a full-back. I also find that he struggles a lot defensively. He's surprisingly easy to beat 1v1 for a player whose a good athlete. Aaronson, I liked what I saw from Paxten last season. I think he showed clear improvement, but I'd be very careful not to expect too much just because his brother was a success. There are so many stories in soccer (and other sports) where the younger sibling gets overrated because the older sibling was successful. I also think Brenden had great conditions for success. He had almost no competition around him for those minutes among young players (only Fontana), and the Union wanted to establish themselves as a development club. Paxten faces a lot more competition (McGlynn, Sullivan, de Vries, and eventually some younger kids not yet signed). I don't think he's going to get the same conditions for success that Brenden got.
Philly still hasn't replaced Warren Creavalle, which means the backup DM role is up for grabs. Maybe Matej Oravec will take that role, though he wasn't able to get on the field in 2020. Maybe it will be Cole Turner, who I find is rarely discussed because he's amid a sea of higher-profile prospects.
He's also a really boring player IMO. Doesn't mean he's bad, but the stereotypical defensive midfielder.
I'm expecting us to talk about Philly homegrowns this season, but I don't expect new big breakouts until next year. I'm not the biggest fan of Fontana or Real. Fontana to me is no substitute for Aaronson. So I'm expecting lots to talk about at the academy levels and introductions to their first team for key young'uns. The real impact will be 2022 with players like Harriel, Paxten, etc, however. In fact, I'll go on record as saying Philly takes a step back from the league's elite next season. They didn't replace Aaronson. McKenzie's replacement is a question mark. They've gotten older in some key positions. Ilsinho will be 36 before the end of the season. Bedoya is about to turn 34. I'm just not convinced............................. MLS is a league built on parity, and its quite easy to slip from 1st to 5th. Ask LAFC about that. They fell from Supporter's Shield to 7th in the West (although COVID-related issues had something to do with that). My favorite in the East is Columbus. They've made a lot of nice additions in the off-season to an already solid roster.
Philly could have kept McKenzie and B. Aaronson and their squad would still be worse than in 2020. The Union were freakishly injury-free last season in a way that is almost certainly not sustainable. Anyway, many people are saying that 2022 will be a bigger year for Philly prospects than 2021. I agree with that, but I also wonder if we are still underestimating what will happen in 2021 a bit. Like...are the Union going to make any more signings in the midfield? I'll assume they'll sign one more midfielder, but even then they'll simply have no choice but to play some of their younger HGPs whether they are ready or not. Bedoya started all but two games last year. He's about to turn 34. Monteiro started all but one game last year, and should miss time for WCQ at three points in the season. If/when Bedoya and Monteiro are unavailable due to WCQ/injury/suspension/rotation, who plays? Maybe Oravec can play as a shuttler, but Philly doesn't seem to think he's any good. Ilsinho probably doesn't have the legs to even play 45 minutes. After that, there are the homegrowns and nobody else right now. Even assuming Philly signs someone, and even assuming Bedoya and Monteiro continue to stay healthy, there will be minutes for someone like McGlynn.
I agree with this. I think optimistically the 2023 will be another big season for the Philly homegrowns. 2024 almost certainly will because you’ll likely have 3 full seasons for Brandan Craig, Quinn Sullivan, Paxten Aaronson, and Jack McGlynn and 2 full seasons for Bajung Darboe, Diego Lopez, Gael Medrano, Nelson Pierre, and Anthony Sorenson. The current older HG’s still in the team are all pretty basic MLS starters but their younger group will have kids shine like McKenzie and Aaronson
Well, a day after I wrote this, news breaks that Philly is bringing in a midfielder from overseas and it's *checks notes* an American '01. The Philadelphia Union are finalizing the signing of US youth international central midfielder Leon Flach from FC St. Pauli for $250,000, a source confirms. Bild first reported.Flach, 20, is a dual-national and also represented Germany at the youth levels.— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) March 23, 2021
Dallas, Philly... which team is next? -NYRB -LA Galaxy -NYCFC -LAFC -RSL -Seattle -Orlando -Atlanta -SKC Hard to say, Philly seemingly came out of nowhere in just 2-3 years, so it could really be any team with the right focus and competence...