Assessing the Philadelphia Union's Offseason

The Union have quite a few important decisions to make in order to improve their 2025 roster.

The Philadelphia Union roster will look different in 2025.

But how different will it be after running it back failed in 2024?

That’s the big question looming over the Union as the longest offseason the club has experienced since 2016 gets underway.

There have been far more misses than hits over the last few transfer windows, which heightens just how crucial getting the decisions right for 2025 have to be.

Upgrades, whether it be with starters or depth players, are needed at a handful of positions.

The Union front office also has some decisions to make in regards to expiring contracts.

So let’s dive into the offseason!

Goalkeeper

Andre Blake (Contract through 2026, club option in 2027)

Oliver Semmle (Contract through 2025, option in 2026)

Andrew Rick (Contract through 2028, option in 2029)

Andre Blake deservedly was handed a new contract during the 2024 season.

The three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year is the No. 1 netminder on the roster until he decides he doesn’t want to be anymore.

But what the Union do need is a capable backup goalkeeper. The lack of a strong backup to Blake has cost the Union at least 25-30 points over the last two seasons. That’s a rough estimate, but I’ll strongly argue that with a more competent backup in place, they are easily in the playoffs and still playing right now.

I was told by a few people that there was interest in bringing back John McCarthy last offseason, but a deal didn’t come to fruition because his contract was deemed as too expensive by ownership.

McCarthy made a base salary of $275,000 with the LA Galaxy in 2024. Oliver Semmle’s base salary was $89,716 with $106,400 in guaranteed compensation.

Sometimes teams have to pay more to bring in quality backups, and in this specific case, an extra $175,000 or so could have been the difference between making and missing the playoffs.

I’ve been told by people within the organization that manager Jim Curtin will push for more spending on a backup goalkeeper this offseason so that the 2024 worst-case scenario in goal does not rear its head again.

Semmle needs to show significant improvement to be trusted as a MLS backup and Andrew Rick is probably a year or two away from reaching that point.

There needs to be someone on the depth chart between Blake and the Semmle/Rick duo. That should be one of the top priorities laid out to ownership by Curtin and sporting director Ernst Tanner.

Defenders

Jamir Berdecio (Loan through 2024 with permanent transfer option)

Brandan Craig (On loan to El Paso, Option year 2025)

Jack Elliott (Option year 2025)

Jakob Glesnes (Contract through 2025, option in 2026)

Nathan Harriel (Contract through 2025, options in 2026, 27)

Olwethu Makhanya (Contract through 2025, options in 2026, 27)

Olivier Mbaizo (Option year 2025)

Matt Real (On loan to Colorado Springs, option year 2025)

Kai Wagner (Contract through 2026, option in 2027)

Isaiah LeFlore (Options in 2025, 26, 27)

There’s a chance the Union enter the business part of the offseason with seven defenders on the books.

Brandan Craig and Matt Real’s time in Philadelphia is done. Not all Homegrown Players will make a massive impact on the first team. That’s the reality of the situation with Craig and Real, who both gave their all to earn MLS minutes, but were not deemed to be at that level by the coaching staff.

While we’re on the topic of Homegrowns, there are A LOT of admirers within the organization of Union II center back Neil Pierre.

I would set Pierre’s chances of being on the first-team roster in 2025 at close to 100 percent. He’s next in line to land a Homegrown contract. The next decision with him is how you integrate him into the first team.

Would the Union be willing to start a teenage center-back in MLS and let him take the Auston Trusty-Mark McKenzie path to Europe? I’m not sure if 2025 is the year for that, but if there’s a young center-back who starts a game next year, it’s Pierre, not Olwethu Makhanya.

Makhanya hasn’t been impressive enough to earn consistent bench time with the first team. That’s concerning for someone signed under the U22 initiative. Players of that ilk have to be on the field.

It’s a no-brainer to keep Jack Elliott around. The same can’t be said about Olivier Mbaizo, who is now clearly the No. 2 right back behind Nathan Harriel.

Cashing in on a sale of Mbaizo seems like a long-gone prospect, even though Curtin states the Cameroonian looks like a Ligue 1-caliber right back at his best.

Isaiah LeFlore is an unknown because he unfortunately suffered a torn ACL in preseason. I would assume the Union want to see more out of him, and his potential might affect any decision on Mbaizo. I’m not sure where the Union stand on Jamir Berdecio, but the staff has to see enough potential in him to elevate to the first team to keep him around. It wouldn’t hurt to be four-deep at the full-back spots.

Jakob Glesnes just finished his worst season in a Union shirt, and while it’s easy for some Union fans to let him go, I still think he carries value within the squad, and an actual full offseason may help him recharge. Maybe Glesnes looks a lot more like himself in the second year after a sports hernia surgery.

An additional center-back is required, no matter how much the club believes in Pierre.

An Elliott-Glesnes-new signing-Pierre rotation would be sufficient in front of a healthy Blake.

Kai Wagner has the best job security outside of Andre Blake on this roster at left back.

Midfielders

Alejandro Bedoya (Expiring Contract)

Jesus Bueno (Contract through 2026, option in 2027)

Leon Flach (Expiring Contract)

Daniel Gazdag (Contract through 2025, option in 2026)

Danley Jean Jacques (Contract through 2026, options in 2027, 28)

Jack McGlynn (Contract through 2025, options in 2026, 27)

C.J. Olney (Contract through 2028, option in 2029)

Joaquin Torres (Option in 2025)

Jeremy Rafanello (Contract through 2026, options in 2027, 28)

Quinn Sullivan (Contract through 2027, option in 2028)

Cavan Sullivan (Contract through 2028)

Nick Pariano (Contract through 2025, options in 2026, 27)

David Vazquez (Contract through 2027, option in 2028)

If Alejandro Bedoya wants to keep playing, you let him keep playing. That’s the simple decision on his expiring contract. No need to draw it out like last year’s fiasco.

Leon Flach has the more intriguing expiring contract. The 23-year-old has been a steady force in the Union midfield, but he hasn’t agreed to a new long-term deal, like many of the other key contributors have over the past few years.

He can still be a vital piece inside the Union midfield, but does he think now is the time to make the leap back across the pond to test himself? If that is the case, what is the ideal landing point for playing time? Or does another MLS team come in with a larger offer? Time will tell on that one.

Quinn Sullivan and Jeremy Rafanello recently received new contracts, while Danley Jean Jacques, Daniel Gazdag and Jesus Bueno are here for the long term.

Jack McGlynn’s transfer value is intriguing, but I think another year in MLS may benefit him the most.

There’s a variety of things you can do with McGlynn, including moving him further forward on the field. I’ve seen the idea suggested of him playing at the 10 with Daniel Gazdag in a further forward role, among others, floated out there.

One thing is for sure about the attack: Cavan Sullivan needs to play a healthy amount of minutes in 2025. You don’t sign him to a large Homegrown contract just to star for Union II.

Is Sullivan the clear backup to Gazdag? Maybe not because you have Rafanello, McGlynn and his brother Quinn to fill up the depth chart.

I would suggest getting the 15-year-old as close to goal as possible. You can argue that he should be listed as a forward in 2025 and be the complement to Mikael Uhre and Tai Baribo.

If the Union are still spending within their current constraints, which is a possibility, you can shift the younger Sullivan into a forward role, pick up an MLS veteran to fill in the No. 3 striker role and commit more money to other positions.

If the training wheels are finally off, then the Union should look to improve everywhere and that probably keeps Sullivan in midfield.

A midfield rotation of Bedoya, Danley, Flach, Bueno, Gazdag, McGlynn, both Sullivan and Rafanello is quite deep. It still looks good on paper without Flach.

If Bedoya and Flach both don’t come back, then more resources have to be put into the midfield depth.

Forwards

Markus Anderson (Contract through 2026, options in 2027, 28)

Sam Adeniran (Expiring Contract)

Tai Baribo (Contract through 2025, option in 2026)

Mikael Uhre (Option for 2025 reportedly picked up)

Chris Donovan (Contract through 2025, options in 2026, 27)

Sam Adeniran did not do enough to warrant a contract extension.

The midseason acquisition from St. Louis City SC came over in a low-risk, high-reward trade.

I can’t imagine the Union bring back Adeniran, which leaves them with Uhre and Tai Baribo as the only true first-team strikers on the roster.

A third starting-caliber striker is required in the transfer window.

Curtin stated during the regular season that Uhre’s option for 2025 was triggered by a performance metric, so the Dane will be back for another season.

Markus Anderson could be a decent change-of-pace player off the bench, but that seems like his ceiling at the moment, while Donovan wasn’t heard from in the second half of the regular season.

If the Union can only operate on a limited budget to make transfer additions, they have to hone in on a backup goalkeeper, reserve center-back and No. 3 forward and then work out the rest.

Again, there’s always the potential for the ownership to have an awakening and spend more, but if the constraints are still in place, the Union have to channel their energy into those specific spots before doing anything else.

Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Union.