CHESTER, Pa. – As the Philadelphia Union begin their search for a new striker, they may be bound by some financial limitations.
But there certainly won’t be any geographical bounds, as Union head coach Jim Curtin and technical director Chris Albright are planning multiple trips to Europe and South America to scour the world marketplace for someone who can put the ball in the net.
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“We’re not going to bring in a $7 million forward,” Curtin told MLSsoccer.com. “I talked to the owners, and that’s not something that is going to happen. But you can still find a quality goalscorer in Europe for that next tier of spending.”
While Curtin was relatively pleased with the Union’s offensive production last season – they scored 51 goals, tied for fourth-most in the Eastern Conference – he admitted that “a striker is a priority,” in large part because he believes the club needs to “improve our speed up top” to stretch opposing defenses.
But to acquire the kind of speedy goalscorer that he wants, Curtin knows the club might have to get creative in managing the salary cap and possibly look at loan deals with foreign teams.
“We have a clear agenda of which guys we want to target,” Curtin said. “And there are good relationships with clubs for loans. That’s going to be kind of our mechanism to bring players in. We’ll look at every opportunity to get the best bang for our buck because we’re limited by the salary cap.”
Curtin has been to Europe before, but his recent trips have been to study other teams and academies from a coaching standpoint. Going overseas to scout and work on deals will be a relatively new experience for him – but one that he believes will go smoothly.
“We’re not going to go on a wild goose chase,” he said. “The targets are clear. We know who we want to see, and we’re going to see them.”
Just because the team is planning on bringing in a starting-caliber striker does not necessarily mean they will move on from other forwards currently on the roster. Curtin pointed out that deciding whether to pick up an option on Brian Brown, who scored two goals in 230 minutes this past season while on loan from Jamaican side Harbour View FC, has been “an ongoing discussion.”
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And the Union coach still hopes to bring back Conor Casey, who’s scored 18 goals for Philly over the past two seasons but will turn 34 next year.
According to Curtin, both Casey and fellow out-of-contract MLS stalwart Brian Carroll could be valuable next season, perhaps with a lower salary and a more limited role.
“Those are guys that have done a ton for the club,” Curtin said. “They’ve contributed a great deal … It’s a tricky offseason so there are no promises, but those are two guys I’d like to have around in Union shirts. But there’s an expansion draft, a re-entry draft, and what you want and what you get are two different things at this time of the year.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
