Frankie Westfield played left back for Union 2. He'll likely slot in there with Harriel on the right. Bedoya will likely be back on another player/FO position like then past two seasons. He didn't play aton of minutes this past season. Also, there was no release clause in Kai's contract. The Union promised Wagner that if a reasonable offer came from an English Club that they'd let him leave and pursue that when he signed his contract extension last year. Kai Wagner has joined Birmingham City from the Philadelphia Union.I'm told fee north of $2m. When Wagner signed his new contract, the club promised Wagner and his camp that if an offer of this value came from England, they would accept. Union honored that promise. Club will… https://t.co/Kj4PWu1jC8 pic.twitter.com/fSLn19CW9v— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 2, 2026
Wagner is another great piece of development for the Union. He may not be American, but this is how they envision their model working. A player brought in from Würzburger Kickers in Bund 3 that they developed into one of the best (if not the best) left backs in MLS. Big part of two Supporter's Shield winning teams. Flipped him to Birmingham for a good price. Awesome work. Whichever scout identified Wagner as a target should get part of this transfer fee!!!
back-line for the union looks like this so far LB - Westfield (Starter). CB - Larsen, Makhanya (Starters) Genier, Pierre, Sundstrom RB- Harriel (Starter) Mbaizo
🇺🇸 Sources: Norwegian club Fredrikstad SK will sign rising American attacker Gabriel Wesseh.Wesseh turns 18 in May... will join then.Wesseh had 4g/7a in MLS Next Pro with Atlanta United's second team this year. Atlanta wanted to keep him, but Wesseh will head to Fredrikstad. pic.twitter.com/eSXTWcBxnk— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 5, 2026 Gabe Wesseh to sign with Norwegian club Fredrikstad SK. I like this move for him. Puts him in the European shop window in a league that is willing to sell. The team played a 3-5-2 last year, and I think that suits him better than a 4-3-3- (assuming he isn't playing wingback because he doesn't defend). I see him more central than most other evaluators- his tight space control is fantastic and has great vision.
Do you? The Norwegian league is meh, and his team sold more players to MLS this year than Top 5 leagues according to transfermarkt. I don't think the eliteserien is really scouted any more than MLS at this point, at least not by teams with actual money. The whole European shop window doesn't really make sense for me at this level; the issue isn't visibility, it's credibility. He's going to join in May and they've got a number of young guys ahead of him, it looks like. I suppose they could sell someone in the summer, but I'm not sure he's getting more a lot of time there at 18. I don't necessarily think that signing with Atlanta would have been the best -- they are going to keep buying attackers ahead of him. But he weirdly has a Nordic agent and this screams a lazy placement to me. If he doesn't excel there, he disappears. That would be my concern for him.
Realistically he was facing another season of MLS next Pro. Certainly a few leagues I would’ve liked to see him in before the Eliteserian, but assuming he gets some playing time and doesn’t get stuck in Norway then I don’t see the harm in it. I also think the fact that he’s willing to step so far out of his comfort zone to find a first team opportunity reflects well on his mentality and professional drive.
Right, I get it. That'd be my concern. If he needs more seasoning -- and right now, at least, there's young talent ahead of him though that may be gone in the summer -- this is a bad move. Maybe, but this also screams "Going to Europe means I made it and my agent is Nordic and placed me at a club." So maybe what you say, maybe not. I don't find guys going a free to rando European teams have a very good track record. Part of that is that if you have to settle for a free dynamic, you aren't as good. Part of it is the team has zero investment in you so you basically have little support and no real second chances. But part of it, I think, with some of these kids is that they think Europe is the end state instead of the beginning. I know he's been a recent prospect riser, but I hope for his sake the timing is right. If he needed another year in Next Pro, this probably doesn't end well. The Eliteserien isn't a spectacular league, but it's not MLS Next Pro. I've heard he was pretty good in Next Pro, but I don't think he was dominant and it can be a big leap. I think this might be a very rude awakening, having to be a more complete player, be a pro, take a jump in competition. We'll see if he responds well. I hope he has the support network there.
I really like Philly bringing back Ben Bender. Philadelphia Union re-sign Ben Bender | MLSSoccer.com They're the kind of organization that can polish him up and turn him into a productive guy. Its kind of like the Indiana Vassilev signing. People might have scoffed at that signing, but there was Indiana scoring a critical goal against Chicago in the first leg of the playoff series. I'd rather MLS roll the dice on these types of players than the equivalent Colombian or Romanian.
Yup. He's 18, this is a doable situation. It's time to perform and the kid has real talent. Norway league has pro/rel pressure, 5 European spots- this is the environment we want for our young players. Sure the Netherlands would have been ideal, but he wasn't on the u17 team, and that hurt his resume.
I'm wishing Vasquez was still here- along with 5 other youth players they let walk. All we have now is: ST- Alladoh, Damiani, Anderson, Olivias, Davis AM- Iloski, Indy, Cavan, CJ, Rafanello (Quinn injured) Maybe Jakupovic will get a call up? I also like Gio Sequera, but we have more than enough outside backs, especially right footed ones. This is pretty light for a camp that opens in a few days.
I mean, ok. I doubt Gabe Wesseh will feel much pressure on any of that. I think he's going to be far more concerned about just getting playing time. He needs to be focused on improving his skillset more than anything -- actually development is key here, not whether the team makes Europe or gets relegated. Which again, I doubt he'll be key to so while he'll be there, it's not on him If I'm ranking things in terms of the environment I want, I'm not sure I want a completely new climate and culture to adapt to. I also want a team that is necessarily invested in him in case he needs extra coaching, or he takes a bit longer to adapt. Maybe this team is ready to provide support and is a strong development club; I don't know. If so, great. That's what a player and agent should be looking for: a club that is known for helping players improve and grow. Norwegian relegation pressure, such as it is, should not be anywhere near a selling point for a player coming out of MLSNP to a league of adults. There's so much he likely needs to improve on; tangential pressure that others feel more than him (and could negatively affect PT) isn't helpful. Coaching and playing time is. MLSNP is scouted plenty. This just screams lazy placement by the agency. But again, maybe they are a strong developmental club; they did sell some young guys this last year.
Philadelphia Union acquire Danish defender Japhet Sery Larsen | MLSSoccer.com I was sorta hoping that Pierre and Sundstrum would move a rung up the depth chart after Philly's recent moves. Maybe not.
It appears Malik Jakupovic has traveled to Spain with the Philadelphia Union for preseason per his instagram. The 16 year old striker had 8 goals in 16 regular season appearances for Union II in 2025, plus played in all 3 playoff games. Bradley Carnell mentioned in his presser… pic.twitter.com/bivqd8agCv— Jillian All-$$ (@Silly__Jilly) January 18, 2026 Sources: The Philadelphia Union are finalizing a loan for Neil Pierre, Union Homegrown and U.S. Youth International to Lyngby Boldklub of the Danish Betinia LIGA, Denmark’s second division.Pierre, 18, has made appearances for the United States across multiple levels of the… pic.twitter.com/pfi9fTxs3V— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) January 18, 2026
I know you know this, but for the others, the Philly Union are part owners of Lyngby Boldklub, and I assume loans like this are part of the reason.
🇺🇸 Sources: Orange County SC has signed highly-rated USYNT attacker Jamir Johnson.Johnson, 17, a product of Philadelphia Union academy.LA Galaxy traded for his homegrown rights... but he signs with Orange County now to go to Europe soon. pic.twitter.com/WsWMZfXmuW— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) January 21, 2026
Neil Pierre, a Homegrown for Philadelphia and U.S. youth international, played his first minutes for Lyngby while on loan in a scrimmage against Mjällby.Lyngby went on to win 3–0, with Pierre playing the first 45 minutes.#doop #lyngby #usymntCc: @usmntaut @ProspectsUsmnt… pic.twitter.com/UhyIHy1tvd— José Roberto Nuñez (@JoserNunez91) January 24, 2026
Neil Pierre, recently loaned by the Philadelphia Union, talks about getting acclimated with Lyngby:#DOOPhttps://t.co/6vi0cVns5j— Jillian All-$$ (@Silly__Jilly) January 27, 2026
The Union's deal for CB Martinez is done. Philadelphia Union acquire Colombian defender Geiner Martínez | MLSSoccer.com So now I'm not sure about that much playing time for Sundstrum this season either. Good move for a team trying to win trophies now, though. Now have good CB depth with Larsen, Makhanya, and Martinez. Right? Clearly an area they wanted to address in the off-season.
Looks like local DFW talent Jett Harrison (from DKSC) has moved to Philly Union. Good for him, great Academy. We'll be following along. He was with FCD way back at like U10, but according to the sources I have, he wasn't tagged by FCD. [From a Buzz tweet.]
FC Dallas has to stop losing these top prospects from Dallas who didn’t really play for them (U-10 doesn’t count IMO). It’s becoming very notable how roughly each age group there’s a big name from Dallas who for whatever reason just never makes their way into their academy. Dallas and Seattle are the only two MLS clubs this seems to happen to with any regularity.
Counterpoint: these academies only have so many spots. Not every player is a good fit for particular styles of play as well. Philadelphia has lost a lot of academy players through the years. IMO, the LA teams not figuring out how to better integrate the pro player pathway from their academies is a bigger issue.