“I want to win” Philadelphia Union new signing Milan Iloski set to hit the ground running

The Union is soaring high on the Major League Soccer table, and they don’t intend to end their flight soon, not even with nine games to go. To seal their position at the top of the league and push for a successful playoff run, Philadelphia has bolstered its squad with the addition of Milan Iloski from Danish club FC Nordsjaelland. Beyond his goalscoring ability, the striker has shown a strong desire to win—an extra quality that comes in handy to the Union in such a moment.

Iloski joins the Union on a permanent transfer

The striker who scored 10 goals and bagged an assist in 14 appearances and just three starts this season for San Diego was reportedly signed for an undisclosed fee and will immediately join the Union squad as they seek to keep their place atop the league table. The Union sporting director, Ernst Tanner, confirmed Milan Iloski’s immediate involvement in the team.

“I think he will help pretty immediately, as he knows the league, he has been over here,” Tanner said. “Luckily, we don’t need to go through a visa process. In general, if you sign somebody so late in the year, it’s also always a signing for the future in addition, but here, I think we get lucky to cover both topics.”

His acquisition only became possible after the Union got the top position in the MLS waiver order from CF Montreal, which received the 21st spot in the waiver order and a guaranteed $100,000 in the 2025 General Allocation Money and up to $150,000 in conditional GAM.

With his goalscoring record in the MLS, every penny spent on Iloski seems worthwhile, as he is known to make the most of whatever chance he gets to play on the pitch. In his Q&A as a new member of the team, the striker affirmed his abilities and expressed his desire to not just score goals, but also to earn his place and win trophies with the team.

“I’m a very hard worker. I want to help the team. I want to win,” Iloski affirmed.

“I’ll score goals and create chances for my teammates, but ultimately, I feel like I need to come in and earn my place. I think that starts with working really hard and proving to the players in the locker room and the staff that they can trust me.”

In June, he set an MLS record after scoring four goals in 12 minutes against Vancouver Whitecaps FC, making it the fastest four-goal performance in league history. Talking about his record-breaking moment, the new signing buttressed his irrecoverable obsession with goalscoring.

“Honestly, I don’t really remember. I’m in the game, so I’m not really thinking about what I’m doing,” he said. “But obviously afterwards, the reaction was pretty huge, and I didn’t know I was breaking a record when I was doing it. I feel like around the goal is where I thrive, and I expect myself to score goals, but of course, that was pretty crazy. It was definitely a surreal feeling and something I’m very proud of.”

Ernst Tanner was impressed with the club’s deal to replace an aging Mikael Uhre, whose contract expires in a few months, and had high praise for Iloski.

“The goals speak for themselves. He’s a very quick, aggressive striker-type. We do not have exactly that type of strike in our roster, and when we got the opportunity, we all thought, ‘okay, we’re going to need to strike here.'”

He then expatriated on some of the qualities he brings to the team.

“He is, in a way, very versatile, playing more [as] a second striker. I think he loves it when he has some company up front, as he can combine really well. His finishing quality is really out of the roof, and that was very impressive. That’s what strikers usually should have.”

The Union hosts Toronto on Saturday night at Subaru Park in their 26th game of the season, and the fans will definitely be delighted to welcome Milan Iloski to his new home.