CHESTER, Pa. – With Fernando Aristeguieta’s short-term loan expiring at the end of June as he battled a month-long injury, there was some uncertainty as to whether the Venezuelan striker had played his final game for the Philadelphia Union.
You can put those rumors to rest.
Following Tuesday’s training session, Union technical director Chris Albright told reporters that the club has extended Aristeguieta’s loan through the end of the season. And both Albright and Aristeguieta remain optimistic the striker on loan from France’s FC Nantes can stay in town even longer than that as the Union hold an option to purchase his contract at the conclusion of the current campaign.
“We initially had the option in for the second six months to be able to get an evaluation of Fernando,” Albright said. “Obviously he’s been a bit unlucky with some injuries but we’ve certainly seen enough where we think he can score goals in this league. And we hope he contributes and helps us in a playoff push in the second half.”
Aristeguieta admitted that not knowing his status with the club over the last couple of weeks had been hard for him. That he couldn’t recover as quickly as he hoped from a high ankle sprain only added to his frustration, especially after he missed time earlier in the year due to a calf injury and while on international duty with the Venezuelan national team.
“It was pretty stressful,” Aristeguieta said. “But finally I’m training again and I’m staying. So I’m happy.”
After missing four straight league matches, Aristeguieta hopes to be ready for Saturday’s game vs. the Portland Timbers at PPL Park (7 pm ET; MLS Live).
That would certainly give head coach Jim Curtin a good attacking option to help the red-hot C.J. Sapong, who had four goals and an assist in June. And while Curtin isn’t sure how he’ll work Aristeguieta and veteran Conor Casey -- who returned to training this week after missing all of June with an injury -- back into the striker rotation, he knows that’s a good problem to have.
“He’s been a little bit snakebitten and I think he’s really eager to push this second half of the year,” Curtin said of Aristeguieta. “I couldn’t be happier to have him back and have [the contract uncertainty] behind us.”
Curtin added that he still believes that Aristeguieta can be a player that scores 12 to 15 goals per season, especially after watching him score three times in his first five MLS games. But how long he stays in MLS remains up in the air – and will likely depend on how many goals he scores over the final 15 games of the year and whether the front office and ownership decides he’s worth a long-term investment.
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“I think he’s a player that we’d love to have here for a lot of years but there are variables involved in that,” Albright said. “It’s not just as easy as saying, ‘Yeah we want him.’ There’s obviously cost.”
Aristeguieta understands that his fate ultimately rests with the club. So the 22-year-old wants to do enough in the second half of the season to prove that he’s worth it.
“Since the moment I arrived here, I said that I was in love with the team, I was in love with the city,” he said. “Of course I want to stay here. But it’s not something that depends on me.
“I’m going to work to stay here, to do the right things, so at the end of the season, when the guys at the office sit down and have to decide if I’ll stay or not, I hope that they’re going to be happy with me.”
Dave Zeitlin covers the Union for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at djzeitlin@gmail.com.
