It’s happened again! Pre-season is over, and the Philadelphia Union are BACK…and you had absolutely no idea.
You woke up this past Thursday morning to find out that the Union beat Defence Force FC - whoever THAT is, you think to yourself - by a score of 5-0 in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, which you forgot they were competing in altogether. Great. Cool. Perfect. What a start for the boys!
But that’s when you realize - Union’s first MLS game of the season is just a few days away, and inevitably somebody is going to ask you about something you don’t know how to answer, something you didn’t pay attention to during the off-season.
You could look like a giant dork who doesn’t know what they’re talking about, OR…you could read through my “Ultimate off-season guide for a neglectful Union fan” and come across like you’ve been tapped in all Winter long.
Let’s get started - I think it makes sense to start with all the roster moves in the off-season, so you’re not shouting for Bradley Carnell to put in a guy who no longer plays here come Saturday night.
Jakob Glesnes (CB) - Trade to LA Galaxy - guaranteed $1,100,000 in GAM, up to additional $1,100,000 if performance metrics are met
Kai Wagner (LB) - Transfer to Birmingham City - reported $2.5 million transfer fee
Tai Baribo (ST) - Trade to DC United - guaranteed $4,000,000, additional $600,000 if performance metrics are met
Mikael Uhre (ST) - Out of Contract - joined FC Midtjylland as a free agent
Oliver Semmle (GK) - Option Declined - joined Lexington SC as a free agent
David Vazquez (MD) - Trade to San Diego FC - guaranteed $250,000, up to an additional $250,000 if performance metrics are met
Chris Donovan (ST) - Option Declined - joined Louisville City FC as a free agent
Isaiah LeFlore (LB) - Option Declined - joined Nashville SC as a free agent
Neil Pierre (CB) - Loan to Lyngby Boldklub
Nicholas Pariano (MD) - Option Declined
Ezekiel Alladoh (ST, 20yo) - Transfer from IF Brommapojkarna - Club record signing, reported around $4.5 million
Agustín Anello (ST/CAM, 23yo) - Transfer from Boston River - reported $2.5 million transfer fee
Japhet Sery Larsen (CB, 25 yo) - Transfer from SK Brann - reported $1.75 million transfer fee
Geiner Martínez (CB, 23yo) - Transfer from CA Juventud - reported ~just under~ $1 million transfer fee
Finn Sundstrom (CB, 19yo) - Transfer from North Carolina FC
Stas Korzeniowski (ST, 23yo) - MLS NEXT Pro
*RUMORED* - Philippe Ndinga (LB) - Transfer from Degerfors IF
Alejandro Bedoya (CM, 38yo) - re-signed through 2026, will be the captain’s 11th season with the U. Will continue his responsibilities in the Union’s Player Development and Front Office initiatives
Nathan Harriel (DF, 24yo) - Option triggered, 2026 will be the homegrown’s 6th season with the 1st team
Ben Bender (MD, 24yo) - re-signed through June 2027 with an option through June 2028.
George Marks (GK, 26yo) - re-signed through 2026, with two club options: the first through June 2027, and the second through the 2027-2028 season.
So with all that roster movement, here’s ~pretty much~ where Union’s depth chart sits heading into Matchday 1 of the season.
Many of these players can slot in at multiple positions - Milan Iloski at forward and CAM, Nate Harriel at Right Back and CB, and we even saw Jeremy Rafnello at Right Back to start the season Wednesday night in Trinidad and Tobago, down in CCC, in an emergency situation.
The one place the Union desperately needs an upgrade is at Left Back following the departure of Kai Wagner, who was one of the Union’s most consistent and important players over the last few years.
It has been rumored and reported by the likes of Tom Bogert that Union has a deal in place for 20-year-old left back Philippe Ndinga from Swedish club Degerfors, but it’s been radio silence on that front since Bogert tweeted the initial report on February 13th.
On February 10th, the Union released its new primary 1776 Kit to commemorate the United States’ 250th Birthday and Philadelphia’s role as the epicenter of the Semiquincentennial celebration in 2026.
The 1776 Ki,t which the Union will wear mostly at Subaru Park for the next two seasons, acts as a visual representation of a new era for the Union after making significant changes to the roster in the off-season, but pays homage to a historic past and the role the city of Philadelphia played in the American Revolution.
The 1776 Kit, inspired by the city’s rebellious spirit and blue-collar grit, features notable landmarks and figures from Philadelphia’s past that represent the Union, their fans, and the place they come from.
With a layered design that incorporates historical references, typography, and architectural elements that you’ll find around the city of Philadelphia, fans will immediately recognize many of the historic symbols featured on the kit, including Benjamin Franklin, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Liberty Bell, John Hancock’s signature on the Declaration of Independence, George Washington’s Statue, Commodore John Barry’s Statue, and the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
The 1776 Kit is now on sale and available at MLSStore.com, Fanatics.com, and Adidas.com.
On Tuesday afternoon, the City of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Union, and Philadelphia Soccer 2026 announced that Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) has chosen Subaru Park and the WSFS Bank Sportsplex in Chester, PA, as its official Team Base Camp training site for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Côte d'Ivoire qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 2014 after topping Group F of the CAF qualifiers with an impressive record of 8W-2D-0L and outscoring their opponents by a total of 25 goals to zero. Yes, zero.
WSFS Bank Sportsplex, a state-of-the-art, $100 million, 170,000-square-foot sports hub is equipped with seven outdoor and two indoor multiuse sporting fields, multisport courts for basketball, volleyball, and futsal, a two-story performance center with a weight room and sprint track, six locker rooms, recovery rooms, an event space, and a cafe for athletes and guests, giving the Côte d'Ivoire squad everything it needs to prepare for the World's stage down in Chester.
It was also announced on Tuesday that Les Éléphants' will stay in Wilmington, DE during their stay in the area for the team’s 2 group stage games at Lincoln Financial Field ( June 14th vs Ecuador, June 25th vs Curaçao).
On November 18th of last year, The Guardian’s Pablo Maurer released a story detailing allegations of sexist, racist, and homophobic behavior from Philadelphia Union’s Sporting Director, Ernst Tanner.
The following day, November 19th, the Union announced that, while an initial investigation by MLS was unable to corroborate any of the allegations made against Ernst Tanner, the team was advised that the league would reopen the investigation and that Tanner would be placed on administrative leave through the process.
Maurer released a follow-up story on February 16th, less than a week before the start of the new MLS season, explaining that “Ernst Tanner continues to be under investigation by Major League Soccer and remains on administrative leave with no resolution expected to come soon.”
Despite Tanner’s absence, Union just had one of its busiest off-seasons to date, and it might not be done quite yet. 3 MLS All-stars in Kai Wagner, Jakob Glesnes, and Tai Baribo said their goodbyes, while the signings of Agustin Anello, Japhet Sery Larsen, and Ezekiel Alladoh introduce the new wave of talent to Philadelphia fans.
Interestingly, per Pablo’s story, Tanner was not involved in the negotiations for at least one of the transfers this off-season, which were handled instead by Union owner Jay Sugarman and assistant sporting director Matt Ratajczak.
On a recent podcast released via Union’s YouTube channel, the club’s Chief Business Officer, Tim McDermott, spoke to Dave Leno, the voice of Philadelphia Union Radio, about some changes fans can expect to see at Subaru Park later this year.
“We have a lot of new things planned. Coming up at the stadium this year, over the course of the year, if you’re a fan, you’re going to see new sport lighting that’s going to be at Subaru Park - it’s that theatrical lighting you can do these days, and it’ll be pretty unique, pretty special.” - Philadelphia Union CBO, Tim McDermott
McDermott also spoke about changes to the options available to fans following the World Cup break this summer.
“We have a new food and beverage partner in Aramark, and the big thing you’ll see is that after the World Cup, there will be some significant renovations that happen during the World Cup break, so coming out of that, when you walk into Subaru Park, the concourse is going to look massively different. New food and beverage offers, aesthetics, etc.” - Philadelphia Union CBO, Tim McDermott
I do think it’s worth noting that Aramark is the same company that Fenway Park concession workers went on strike against last Summer until a new deal was reached. A similar situation unfolded in Philadelphia last year, resulting in a new contract for workers at all 3 South Philly Stadiums that provided health benefits to year-round workers for the first time.
McDermott also mentioned the recent purchase of an additional plot of land down near the stadium.
“We’re still trying to develop the campus, we bought more land just off Seaport Drive, a plot of land called Chester Machine Works, we just finished that purchase, so we’re trying to figure out now that we have that, how do we continue to develop that area.” - Philadelphia Union CBO, Tim McDermott
I’m not able to find exactly where “Chester Machine Works” is located, but my best educated guess is somewhere near The Larimer. Who knows, I hope they do something cool with it for the fans, though.
I’m going to make it easy for you to figure out which competitions the Union is in.
MLS? - Duh
CONCACAF Champions Cup? - Yes. If Union advance against Defence Force FC next week - and they should after beating them 5-0 in Leg 1 - Bradley Carnell’s side will move on to face Club America in the CCC Round of 16 to take place in March.
Leagues Cup? - *sigh*, unfortunately, yes. The competition will kick off on August 4th, with the final being played on September 6th. The Union doesn’t know who they'll play yet.
US Open Cup? - No, and I hate it.
World Cup Break - May 25 - July 16
The preseason predictions and power rankings are in, and each year they serve as bulletin board material for teams and their fans.
MLS released pre-season predictions from Apple TV talent, and it was a mixed bag when it came to the Union.
Lots of predictions around the 4-7 spot, which I personally think is pretty fair. Kaylyn Kyle gave Union the highest prediction at the #2 spot in the East, while Marcelo Balboa gave Union their worst by far, all the way down at 13th.
In the first Power Rankings released by MLS for the 2026 season, Philadelphia Union landed at #8, sitting behind Seattle Sounders, FC Cincinnati, Nashville SC, San Diego FC, Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC, and Inter Miami.
One of the downsides to competing in the CONCACAF Champions Cup is that you just don’t get that many days on the field to practice, which really goes against a team trying to integrate a bunch of new faces and gel the group together.
Union flew down to Trinidad and Tobago to start their CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament on Wednesday, a flight of just under 2,200 miles. They beat Defence Force 5-0 and were back in Philadelphia by Thursday afternoon.
Luckily for Bradley and the boys, their next game is just a few hours down I-95, which affords them a bit more flexibility in their rest and recoup before moving on to Matchday 1 of the MLS season down in DC.
Here’s how Union’s first month of the season or so looks for them.
Feb 18th @ Defence Force FC
Feb 21st @ DC United
Feb 26th vs Defence Force FC
Mar 1st vs NYCFC
Mar 7th vs San Jose Earthquakes
Mar 14th @ Atlanta United
Mar 21st vs Chicago Fire
Okay! Now you’re all caught up and ready to sound like you know what you’re talking about next time one of your friends asks you about the Union this Saturday, when the boys take on former teammate Tai Baribo and DC United in their MLS Season opener down in the Capital city.
When: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21ST @ 7:30 PM
Where: AUDI FIELD, WASHINGTON, DC
How to Watch: APPLE TV
