The Union have their new left back in 20-year-old Philippe Ndinga
A source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer that the Union agreed a transfer fee of around $1 million, plus incentive-based bonus.
It took a long time to seal the deal, but the Union finally have their new starting left back.
The team’s signing of Philippe Ndinga, a 20-year-old from Swedish first-division club Degerfors, became official on Friday. A source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer that the Union agreed a transfer fee of around $1 million, plus incentive-based bonuses.
“Philippe is a dynamic defender with the ability to play confidently with both feet, which gives us valuable flexibility in the back line,” Union manager Bradley Carnell said in a statement. “His aggressive style of defending fits our system well, and we’re excited to welcome him to the club.”
Because of Ndinga’s age, he qualified for MLS’s Under-22 initiative, which means the transfer fee won’t affect the salary cap. (Transfer fees usually count in the budget math for MLS teams, but under-22 players get preset cap hits of up to $200,000.)
Ndinga was born in Libreville, Gabon, and spent his late teens coming up through French lower-league clubs. His international affiliation is with Congo, and he played three games for the country’s under-23 team last summer.
He took his first professional step last August when he signed with Degerfors of Sweden’s top flight. It didn’t take long for him to get attention from elsewhere, with suitors reportedly including Los Angeles FC, the Houston Dynamo, and Greece’s Panathinaikos.
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Ndinga hasn’t finished all of the required visa paperwork, even though the contract is signed, so he can’t play in a game for the Union yet.
“I would say a couple of days still before we can welcome him here to Philly,” Carnell said in a news conference Friday afternoon, ahead of Sunday’s game against New York City FC (4:30 p.m., Apple TV). “Still a couple of things to iron out and a couple appointments to be had in Sweden. I don’t want to put days on it, but probably another week, week and a half.”
Carnell also referred to “dealing with visas, and applications, and timelines from embassies and governments and what have you.”
Ndinga also hasn’t played in an official game since Nov. 9, so he might need some time to get back to full fitness.
“We’ll put that in the hands of Ryan Cotter to do the baseline testing,” Carnell said, referring to the Union’s head of performance. He added that Cotter and Ndinga have already been in contact.
“If he now joins in 10 days’ time and then it takes a week or two to get up and ready — I mean, yeah, it’s possible to start [and] hit the ground running,” Carnell said. “We’ve seen it with players who’ve left into other leagues and not been match-ready and play already [in] games. So it is possible, just depending on the individual and depending how fit they are coming in.”
Frankie Westfield will stay atop the left back depth chart until Ndinga is settled in, though he’s currently sidelined with a minor hamstring injury. Once Ndinga gets going, Westfield will be able to switch to right back.
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Transactions
The Union loaned forward Markus Anderson to Brooklyn FC of the second-tier USL Championship. Midfielder CJ Olney also likely is going on loan there, a source with knowledge of the matter told The Inquirer.
Brooklyn’s manager is former Union reserve team coach Marlon LeBlanc, so he knows both players well.
Nine nations will compete in five group stage matches this summer, plus two more in a knockout game on July 4. Here’s what you need to know about those countries — and what those fans need to know about Philly. Click here for more.
