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A Philadelphia Union blog hosted by Christopher A. Vito and Matthew De George

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Training notes: In with the new, out with the old


The chemistry between Chris Pontius, left, and Charlie Davies, center,
goes back to their days with D.C. United in 2011. The hope is that it carries
over to the Union. (AP)
The Philadelphia Union were among the most active teams in the last day of the summer transfer window and beyond, with Alejandro Bedoya and Charlie Davies coming in and Sebastien Le Toux heading out, with all manner of MLS financial devices switching hands.

What did all that mean at Union training Thursday? Some reaction from Chester:

- Davies, acquired from New England Thursday morning some eight hours after the close of the transfer window, will arrive late Thursday. He played last week for New England after three months out for what was revealed to be cancer treatment for a disease now in remission and will likely be available for selection Saturday at D.C. United.

- Bedoya, coming in from French club Nantes, will meet the team in D.C. He’s ramping up his fitness from the European preseason, and manager Jim Curtin said Bedoya played 60 minutes in a friendly this week. But the travel calendar makes it unlikely he’ll debut Saturday.

- The Union, Curtin said, are not done in the summer window. Though the MLS secondary window is closed, teams can still add out-of-contract players in the coming weeks ahead of a mid-September roster deadline that is hard and fast. Curtin said, “there are a few trialists that will be coming in for the next few weeks,” primarily on defense. Expect a long-term solution at left back to be one of the top priorities. The Union have one roster spot to play with.

- Both of the Union’s moves were attacking in nature, for a team that has struggled mightily in giving up goals. Here was Curtin’s reaction when that apparent conflict was posed:
“It does need to be said that as you do improve with the ball, the other team can’t score. So we need to improve that part of things. Getting Alejandro, while he is a great attacking player, he will do the defensive running that strengthens our team in that regard. Our breakdowns right now, we are still looking. … We don’t neglect what our weaknesses are. I think we have a good idea what our weaknesses are and what we need to improve.”
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Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Union clinch signing of Alejandro Bedoya

Alejandro Bedoya, playing for the U.S. National Team in Copa America
this summer, is set to be the Union's newest signing. (AP)
CHESTER >> The Philadelphia Union’s two-summer chase of Alejandro Bedoya is all but over.

The Union sealed the transfer of the American international Wednesday, per the website of his former club, French side FC Nantes.

The deal sealed the deal by reportedly shipping general allocation money, targeted allocation money and a first-round SuperDraft pick to Chicago to swap the Union’s No. 2 allocation order pick with Chicago at No. 1 to acquire Bedoya’s rights.

Reports indicate that Bedoya will earn a salary near $1 million in addition to a transfer fee of nearly $1 million to Nantes. Bedoya will occupy a designated player spot on the Union roster.

Bedoya, 29, is a native of Englewood, N.J., who’s spent his entire pro career in Europe. He played in Sweden with Orebro and Helsingborgs and Scotland for a season at Rangers alongside future Union teammate Maurice Edu. Since 2013, Bedoya has been at Nantes, the club of former Union young DP striker Fernando Aristeguieta. The Union attempted to sign Bedoya last summer, but the deal fell through.

“Alejandro is a good player,” Edu said. “I think anyone who’s seen him play for the national team or for his club teams, they know technically he’s a good player. He works hard on both sides of the ball. He’s a player who can create plays for himself and for other players. In any team that he plays, he’s shown that he’s a quality player and can impact a team.”

Bedoya has earned 53 caps with the U.S. National Team. He’s played primarily as a winger, but he’s likely to be deployed centrally with the Union to fill the void left by Vincent Nogueira at the No. 8 role.

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