Union Announces Contract Option Decisions for 7 Players

CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union today announced that they have exercised the contract options on seven players from their 2018 roster, while 10 contracts were already guaranteed for next season, giving the club a roster that currently features 17 players under contract for the 2019 campaign.

The club picked up the options of defenders Jack Elliott, Olivier Mbaizo, and Keegan Rosenberry; midfielders Ilsinho, Derrick Jones and Fafa Picault; and forward Cory Burke.

The contracts of the following players were already guaranteed for the 2019 season: goalkeeper Andre Blake; defenders Mark McKenzie, Matt Real and Auston Trusty; midfielders Brenden Aaronson, David Accam, Alejandro Bedoya, Anthony Fontanaand Haris Medunjanin; and forward CJ Sapong.

Simultaneously, the Union announced that they have declined the contract options of goalkeeper Jake McGuire; defenders Richie Marquez and Josh Yaro; midfielders Marcus Epps, Fabian Herbers and Adam Najem; and forward Jay Simpson. The Union also declined the option of defender Fabinho, but are currently in negotiations with him on a new contract. Goalkeeper John McCarthy, defender Raymon Gaddis and midfielder Warren Creavalle are all out of contract entering the offseason. Midfielder Borek Dockal is also out of contract following the expiration of his loan from Chinese club Henan Jianye. Finally, the club holds a contract option on forward Kacper Przybylko that is yet to be acted upon.

Should the Union not reach a new agreement with any player either out of contract or who has had his option declined or not yet acted upon, the following MLS roster mechanisms would apply: Epps, McGuire, Najem, Przybylko, and Simpson would all be eligible for the 2018 Waiver Draft; while Creavalle, Fabinho, Gaddis, Herbers, Marquez, McCarthy and Yaro would be eligible for the 2018 Re-Entry Process. Dockal’s MLS rights would be also be available via the Waiver Draft.