Some Thoughts on the Early Offseason

Alejandro Bedoya is back, Jack Elliott is reportedly departing, a new center back is rumored to be signed.

The Philadelphia Union still don’t have a manager, but that doesn’t really matter at this stage.

Sporting director Ernst Tanner is calling the shots and he’ll eventually bring in one of his guys to replace Jim Curtin.

A few roster moves have happened, or are reportedly about to happen, with Tanner pulling the strings for the 2025 season.

Alejandro Bedoya signed a one-year deal to return for the 2025 campaign, Jack Elliott is reportedly off to Chicago in free agency and 23-year-old Ian Glavinovich is reportedly on the way as Elliott’s replacement.

The Bedoya move is a sensible one for all parties.

First and foremost, it’s good to see the signing happen before the holidays after the drawn-out mess that eventually led to Bedoya’s re-signing last offseason.

Bedoya still feels that he can play, and as long as he can, he should stay with the Union. He’s meant so much to the franchise on and off the field and it would be a disservice to the former USMNT midfielder for his career to end any other way.

In 2025, Bedoya’s role should be different, not just when it comes to playing time, but as a bridge between the new manager and the squad.

The new manager is likely going to come from outside the organization. He will have to rely on Bedoya, and other leaders in the squad, to get certain messages through to the team.

Remember Curtin was a players’ coach and found a certain way to speak to them in tough moments. That might not be the case with Tanner’s pick who will likely align more with the sporting director.

Bedoya will be around for 2025, but Elliott will not.

Elliott is reportedly signing with the Chicago Fire as a free agent.

Some change had to happen across the back line after the disastrous 2024, but you could debate whether or not Elliott is the right player to let go based on form.

Sure, all of the center backs were awful, but Jakob Glesnes committed the more glaring mistakes.

The Union almost had no choice from a contractual perspective to let Elliott walk instead of moving Glesnes.

Glesnes is under contract for 2025 with a club option for 2026 and he’s a TAM player. Elliott was a free agent and signing him to a longer-term deal at a similar price to Glesnes and Kai Wagner wouldn’t have worked financially from the Union’s perspective.

Glesnes was signed as part of the wave of contract extensions inked over the last two years as a reward for strong play.

The running-it-back strategy didn’t work. Curtin deserved blame for fighting for those players, but at the end of the day, Tanner signed off on those deals and now at least Glesnes’ extension doesn’t look great.

If Glesnes’ form doesn’t improve in 2025, the center-back pairing of the future is coming together right in front of our eyes. Neil Pierre will be on the first-team roster and Ian Glavinovich is reportedly incoming at the position.

How long Pierre and Glavinovich actually play for the first team will depend on their development at the position, but the Union are trending more toward youth at the position, which is a welcome sight.

There’s no guarantee the center-backs will be perfect, but you’d rather see young players make mistakes and learn on the job than veterans making mistake after mistake.

Glesnes can still be a rotational piece by the summer, and in the best-case scenario, he improves on his form and there are three center-backs to rely on.

Olwethu Makhanya is still on the roster, and maybe the additions of Pierre and Glavinovich motivate him to play at a first-team level, but I don’t know if you can count on him getting minutes if he hasn’t already.

With Isaiah LeFlore back from injury and Olivier Mbaizo re-signed, the Union should be all set in defense with four full-backs and four center-backs.

Mbaizo coming back adds to the depth at right-back, but it feels like the ship has sailed on a transfer overseas. Nathan Harriel took over the starting role, and who knows Mbaizo could win it back under the new boss, but the Cameroonian has the feel of an MLS lifer now and there’s nothing wrong with that.

The next roster additions should be a backup goalkeeper and an extra attack-minded player. More depth in central midfield could be added if Jack McGlynn is sold in the offseason, but there’s nothing new on that front. PSV has been a fan of McGlynn for a long time, but if a move happens, it won’t get started until the January transfer window opens and European clubs have clearer ideas of their needs.