Philadelphia Union Transfer Window Rumor Mill Rundown
By Chuck Booth
The Secondary Transfer Window is open and rumors are beginning to pop up about what the Philadelphia Union may do to improve the squad.
It’s pretty well known that the biggest needs are at striker, left back and in the midfield although the order of those needs will vary depending on who you ask. Because the needs are pretty well known it leads to speculation about who the team may sign and why. We’re going to take a few of the more concrete rumors and break them down while rating them on a believability meter.
Earnie Stewart runs a tight ship so nothing too concrete has slipped out via Philadelphia Union communications to the public but that makes speculation even more fun. The main rumor has been about Jorge Aparicio who is a player on the team’s discovery list. That has also been accompanied by a story that Fox Sports ran on Mario Balotelli. Below we’ll go through both of those stories.
A Discovery List player trains separately from his team?
Jorge Aparicio is a 23-year-old currently playing for Comunicaciones in the Guatemalan league and he is also a Guatemalan international. Aparicio is a central defensive midfielder so he wouldn’t be a direct replacement to Vincent Nogueira but instead he would step in as an upgrade over Brian Carroll in the lineup.
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Aparicio is currently listed on the Philadelphia Union’s discovery shortlist and that means that if he were to come to MLS that the team would have first dibs on his rights as long as they make a competitive offer. Due to him playing in Guatemala, that offer would be well within the price range that Earnie Stewart is comfortable dealing in.
According to a story on Guatefutbol.com (warning this is in Spanish) “During the first turn, cream team performed only physical work, with the news that Brandon de León and Jorge Aparicio were not with the rest of the group, both players trained separately.” This could mean that they were doing side work but it could also mean that the duo was being scouted. Given Earnie Stewart’s scouting network in South America, this isn’t a rumor that should be taken lightly.
There isn’t much information on him due to playing in the Guatemalan domestic league but this is a situation where trust in Earnie Stewart is key. So far the only signing that he has made that hasn’t panned out is the Anderson deal so that’s a pretty good ratio.
Check out video on Aparicio below:
There could be worse targets to be linked to than a 23-year-old youngster like the one that we’re going to discuss below…
#BALO2MLS
Mario Balotelli is on his way out of Liverpool and has reportedly turned down a move to Fenerbahce prompting speculation on if a move to either the MLS or China would be in the cards for the mercurial striker. At 25 there is still time for him to turn his career around and a move stateside could help him in the way that it has helped Sebastian Giovinco reignite his career.
If Liverpool can’t find a transfer partner for Balotelli by September first, they may end up buying him out of his deal to make him a free agent which would increase his appeal to MLS clubs. The story by Fox Sports lists New York Red Bulls, the Chicago Fire, and the Philadelphia Union as potential landing spots should he land in MLS.
All of these teams could use an extra striker and have Designated Player spots open to accommodate his wages. This is a move that doesn’t fit with the Union’s transfer policy both due to the price range that they’d be dealing in along with Balotelli’s off the pitch issues.
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Sure Balotelli has talent and if he is somewhere where he’s scoring he could make a huge impact on the team but the risk of dealing with him far outweighs the reward if he hits it big.
Rundown
While one of these moves is pure #Batcountry the Aparicio rumors seem to have some merit to them. If the team were to buy a CDM crevalle may have to be loaned out to make room in the wage books but it would be worth it to add solidity to the midfield. There’s still time in the transfer window and Earnie Stewart is a man with a plan. Sit tight Union fans because big moves are coming.