Since leaving Philadelphia for New York Red Bulls at the end of last season, there have always been questions on who Union would bring in to fill the hole left on the bench by Cory Burke’s departure. And the answer was…no one. Union came into this season willing to try a handful of players up top, hoping to fill that void from within the squad.
Everyone from the likes of Chris Donovan, Quinn Sullivan, and even Joaquin Torres a time or two if I’m not mistaken have had their shot at claiming the less called upon, but very important piece to this squad that is the 3rd forward. Unfortunately, no one has really taken advantage of that opportunity, with just 2 goals between the 3 players in MLS play this season.
But as of Tuesday, July 25th, reports coming out of Austria suggest Union might finally have another forward coming into the mix.
Union set to sign a new striker?
First things first, nothing is official and it’s all just rumors for now, but it’s Wolfsberger AC’s Tai Baribo out of the Austrian Bundesliga being the man in question. Tom Bogert of the Athletic has reported that this move is finalizing a deal for Baribo. A 5’11”, 25-year-old Israeli International who was Wolfsberger’s shining light amidst a mediocre season in 2022/2023.
In Baribo’s first season in the Austrian Bundesliga with Wolfsberger, Baribo led the team with a total of 11 goals and added 2 assists to go with it. In 2022/2023, Baribo was able to build on his solid first year in the league, by scoring a team-high 16 goals in 32 games, which was good enough to land him tied for third place in the league’s Golden Boot race.
Is “The Tank” coming to Philly?
Admittedly, I knew absolutely nothing about Tai Baribo before this morning. But that’s pretty much Ernst Tanner’s style – Identify a diamond in the rough of the lesser-known leagues of the world, and get them to buy into what Union has got going on in Philadelphia. When I first looked into Baribo on youtube, I saw a video referring to him as “The Tank”. While Baribo is listed at just 5 foot 11”, a tank is a pretty accurate way to describe Baribo’s play on the pitch. Very direct, makes quick, darting runs into the box, and finishes his chances off in tight spaces.
The Union really needs someone that can run downhill at defenders late in the game, receiving through-balls behind the defense and getting into the box to finish chances, especially off the bench and in rotation games. It looks like Baribo could provide just that, he might be a really good fit into Union’s system. Baribo seems to come off around the 70-75th minute often, which seems like he could be a good candidate to flip-flop starts/coming off the bench in rotation games with Mikael Uhre.
The way things are going, I get the sense that this is likely the direct replacement for Carranza, if and when he were to be sold on to a bigger club, but I really hope he isn’t being brought in for an immediate replacement. I would love to see Uhre, Carranza, and Baribo get a good run of games as a rotating trio together before Carranza is sold on.
Now it’s time to play the waiting game
Now again, nothing is official, and the workings of the deal honestly look a little tricky from the outside, to be honest, so don’t go buying a Baribo jersey just yet. Reports are indicating that Baribo is coming to Philadelphia to be the team’s main striker and that his deal is rumored to be worth around $3 Million.
That poses multiple issues with the way Union’s team is currently aligned. For one, Union has zero Designated Player spots open, meaning they wouldn’t be able to pay Baribo anywhere near the rumored fee unless they were to: 1) negotiate a much lower fee for Baribo, who is on the last year of his contract with Wolfsberger, or 2) buy down one of the three existing DP contracts currently occupied by Danizel Gazdag, Juliana Carranza, and Mikael Uhre, with Carranza and Gazdag being the much more likely candidates there.
It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out and how the Union will navigate this deal, or if it means any outgoings we didn’t expect are happening sooner than later. But for now, try not to get too caught up in any of this as it’s still just all here-say. PSN will have any future updates on the situation for you, so be on the lookout.
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