We are exactly a week away from the Union’s first match of 2026. Philly travels to Trinidad to take on Defense Force FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup. The expectations for 2026 on the field are focused on competing for the trophies on the table. This season, Philly will play in four competitions with three trophies on the line. That said, the guys on the field will determine whether they can compete for silverware.
Coming into this season, Philly has let go of four key players: Jakob Glesnes, Kai Wagner, Tai Baribo, and Mikael Uhre. This means that the team needs to find new players in three starting spots, Centerback, Left Back, and Striker, and a game-changing attacker off the bench. As of today, the Union has addressed three of those four areas. Japhet Sery Larson comes in at centerback, Ezekiel Alladoh replaces Tai Baribo, and Agustin Anello replaces Mikael Uhre. There have been rumors of left-back signings, but none have come to fruition yet.
With the changes made in these areas, and some other depth pieces leaving and coming, it’s time to look at the Roster Build and Player Development expectations for 2026.
While we haven't seen the new “big name” players in a competitive match yet, can they replace the consistent performers who have left the club?
The Philadelphia Union’s roster currently has 29 players. Of those 29, 15 players have shown they can play consistently enough to earn this club silverware. The question marks stem from the new signings on this team. The track record for the club over the last few years says they should be solid-to-very-good players, but it’s too early to tell right now. Here’s a look at the roster:
With 10 homegrown players making up the youthful core of this team, Philly will need to focus on both getting the new players up to speed early and leaning on some of those homegrown players, now veterans, to lead the team.
Every season, it seems like a player who fights their way into the starting XI makes a true impact for this Philadelphia Union team. Most of the time, those have been homegrowns or the new addition “star” players. This season will be no different.
The new “stars” for this team are coming in to replace the club's stalwarts. These players have to hit to help the club succeed this year. Alladoh has shown some real promise in the limited preseason minutes he’s gotten. Japhet Sery Larson has already been praised as a leader by club legend Alejandro Bedoya. If these players come in and replace Baribo and Glesnes, then this team will be in a great spot.
If the Union is going to be successful in 2026, then their homegrown starters will need to play a big part. Nathan Harriel, Farnkie Westfield, and, when he’s healthy again, Quinn Sullivan will all play vital roles in how far Philly goes in their various competitions in 2026. Add another homegrown player getting more and more minutes (cough, cough, Cavan Sullivan), and this team will find their baseline success.
Philly’s 30-man roster is a decent number, but the club has to be careful that they don’t rely on half of them to carry the whole brunt of the 2026 season. We know it’s unlikely that all 30 players will be trusted pieces on the pitch, but if the club doesn’t rotate to avoid heavy legs, they will falter.
We have seen this around the end of the Jim Curtin era. The club participated in multiple competitions and did a decent job, but there was little to no rotation. By the summer months, the club was knocked out of CCC, in jeopardy of missing the playoffs (they did), and put all their eggs in the Leagues Cup basket before falling short of a top-three finish. Carnell needs to avoid that same pitfall.
Bradley Carnell’s second year in St. Louis was similar to this coming year in Philly. A year following great success, and a bit of a roster turnover ahead of multiple competitions. He will need players 16-20 to be key in some games to compete in the three competitions. I’d bet he knows this from his own experience, which could lead to much more success rather than failure.
The Union’s success comes from the collective team spirit and buy-in. The coaches dictate the car-crash style of play, and the players have to be all-in on it for things to go as well as they did last year. A Supporters’ Shield has allowed this team to take its next steps under Carnell, and he will need his players to put their best foot forward.
We’ve used quotation marks throughout this piece when referring to the new signings as “stars.” That’s because we don’t know what these players will be right now. If Alladoh, Larson, and even Anello become the same level of players that Baribo, Glesnes, and Uhre were, then this team might be on the way to overachieving their success.
Speaking of stars, we all know that Philly lives and dies by their homegrown development. If the club can get a breakthrough season from someone further down the roster, it adds another trusted player to the Boys in Blue. Last year, Frankie Westfield became a trusted starter, and Quinn Sullivan was on the brink of stardom. This year, if a player like Cavan Sullivan or another youngster can step up and break through, then Philly could just be lifting more trophies this year.
