The Union trade Jack McGlynn to the Houston Dynamo

This story has been updated after the trade became official.

The Union have traded midfielder Jack McGlynn to the Houston Dynamo in a deal that nets the club more money than any offer from European clubs would have.

The Dynamo agreed to pay $2.1 million upfront, up to $1.3 million more in performance bonuses, and will give the Union 50% of any future sale to a club abroad. As disappointing as it may be for fans to see the talented 21-year-old move within MLS instead of abroad, Houston’s deal genuinely was that good.

“Over the past three years, he has been a key part of our midfield, and we are incredibly proud of his growth,” Union sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a statement. “At this time, we believe this move is best for both the club and for Jack, allowing us to use the significant proceeds to reinvest and refine our roster while placing him in an environment suited to his style of play and continued development. We have no doubt he’ll enjoy a successful career, and we look forward to following his journey.”

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Over the last year and a half, the Union have talked with teams in the Netherlands, Spain, England, and, most recently, Italy about deals for McGlynn. There were discussions with Cesena of Italy’s Serie B for a deal that rivaled Houston’s but wasn’t as valuable overall. It also was contingent on Cesena not being relegated from the division, and, as of Saturday, the club was five points above safety.

Most of the European clubs the Union met with saw the same weaknesses in McGlynn’s game that Union fans do, but have hoped would go away. For all the extraordinary talent in his left foot, he doesn’t run fast enough or play enough defense to fit at many higher-level teams.

It has been clear enough in his time in Chester, too. Former manager Jim Curtin had to constantly choose between McGlynn’s lack of defense and Leon Flach’s lack of offense at left central midfield while trying to compensate by balancing Quinn Sullivan, Alejandro Bedoya, and Jesús Bueno on the right side.

Though the McGlynn-Sullivan duo often was the most entertaining, it caused problems for the defenders behind them — and they had enough problems already, between their limitations and Andre Blake’s injuries.

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In fact, the Union knew of McGlynn’s limitations before they brought him into their youth academy in 2019. As former academy director, Tommy Wilson told the United Soccer Coaches convention last month: “Jack McGlynn has attributes that do not necessarily align with the Philadelphia Union’s style of play, but he was such a talent that we couldn’t do anything other than recruit him.”

No one ever regretted it, to be sure, and McGlynn provided many highlight moments: goals, assists, and making last year’s Olympic team. Fans also won’t forget when he surged on to the scene as an 18-year-old, scoring a penalty kick in a 2021 playoff shootout win and celebrating with an ice-in-my-veins gesture.

Fast forward to last month, when McGlynn played well for the U.S. men’s national team in its annual training camp for domestic players. He scored an outstanding goal against a pretty bad Venezuela team, then played as a second-half substitute against a Costa Rica team that also wasn’t great.

What really mattered was the tactical role McGlynn played. He was one of two deep-lying midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 setup, which put much more cover around him than the Union’s usual 4-4-2 does.

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Houston has traditionally played a 4-2-3-1 under manager Ben Olsen, a Harrisburg-area native. It plays a slower, more possession-based style amid Texas’ searing summers. The style will fit McGlynn’s game better, even if the weather doesn’t.

”Jack is one of the bright, young American talents in both MLS and the U.S. National Team player pool, and we look forward to his continued development in Houston,” Dynamo president of soccer Pat Onstad said in a statement. “We expect him to thrive in our possession-oriented style of play, as Jack’s strengths match the attributes that we value in our central midfielders.”

Notably, the Dynamo are paying actual cash, not the allocation money (basically bonus cap space) that’s been MLS’s traditional currency in trades. This year is the first in the league’s 30-year history where teams can sell players within the league for cash, as they would in sales abroad.

If that rule change had not happened, this deal (and others floating around the league this winter) might not have happened.

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There are more complications beyond that. This year is the last guaranteed one in McGlynn’s contract, which he signed in 2023, with options for 2026 and ’27. The Union also had to face the fact that they don’t own all of his player rights, a situation that is unique to soccer.

New York City FC and the Red Bulls each own 20% of McGlynn’s rights, which basically meant that they’d each get 20% of any sale abroad the Union made. That condition has existed since the day the Union brought McGlynn in, because they broke MLS’s homegrown player territory rules by signing the Queens native.

The Union did so willingly because, as Wilson said, they knew how good a player they were getting. They also had McGlynn’s family fully on board, because they were attracted to the residential setup in the Union’s youth academy. That made it a lot easier than driving every day from Queens to either NYCFC’s academy in Orangeburg, N.Y., or the Red Bulls’ academy in Whippany, N.J. — each over 30 miles away.

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Sources have told The Inquirer over time that McGlynn’s camp made it clear to all involved that he’d have gone to Europe instead of either New York team had he not been allowed to join the Union. That helped get the deal done. But the Union were still sanctioned for breaking the rules, and giving the New York clubs a share of his rights was part of the punishment.

If McGlynn plays well enough in Houston to finally earn a move abroad, that money will settle everything for all the teams involved.

Finally, there is the fact that while players must agree to moves abroad, MLS rules allow for trades within the league without players’ consent. How big a role that played in this deal is unclear.

As for what the Union do now, CJ Olney has been in the central midfield pipeline for a while and signed a first-team contract last August. The 18-year-old might not be a starter this year, but he is certainly in line for playing time.

The Union also are on the verge of a signing from abroad, 23-year-old Serbian midfielder Jovan Lukic. He currently plays for Spartak Subotica of Serbia’s first division and is seen as much more of a defensive-oriented player. The Union already were looking for that kind of player anyway, between last year’s defensive woes and Flach’s departure as a free agent.

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