⚽️ Julian Carranza Back Training

_{LAST MATCH: Union 1 - New England Revolution 0}

_{NEXT MATCH: vs. FC Cincinnati, Saturday, Nov. 25, 8 p.m. | Apple TV - MLS Season Pass}

Good morning. The international break continues and so does the wait for the Philadelphia Union’s next game. Good news out of Chester today is that Julian Carranza is back fully training.

In the email today:

While the international break has slowed any momentum the Philadelphia Union grabbed in their two-game sweep of New England, there is some good news coming out of Chester. Julian Carranza is back training fully with the squad. The Argentine forward who leads the team in non-penalty goals with 14 and is even with Gazdag on most goals for the team this year will be key to pulling off the road win in Cincinnati.

His absence would also be a bigger blow than losing Jakob Glesnes since there is no striker equivalent of Damion Lowe available off the bench. That said, Quinn Sullivan has impressed and is in good form and Chris Donovan has two of the team’s biggest goals this season in knockout competition.

2) ✍️ CJ Olney Inks Second Team Contract

Hillsborough, N.J. native CJ Olney is the latest player from the Philadelphia Union Academy to sign a professional contract. Olney’s signing of an MLS Next Pro contract was announced earlier this week.

“We're excited to officially welcome CJ to the club as he takes this next step in his career,” said Philadelphia Union II Head Coach, Marlon LeBlanc. “At just 16 years old he has proven to be a a leader and a vital piece of this team after a standout season where he led the team in assists. CJ has a promising future, and we look forward to his continued development with us.”

Olney, 16, becomes the club's fifth academy player to sign an MLS Next Pro professional contract. Starting all 23 of his appearances for Union II in league play, Olney scored four goals and led the team with eight assists.

Our take: Olney has been outstanding and has made great strides this season playing in Next Pro. The real test next will be making that jump to earn a first team contract.

3) 🚜 Remember When

5) 🔗 Link Roundup:

• 📰 Long-time Villanova head men’s coach Tom Carlin is retiring and will be replaced by former associate head coach Mark Fetrow, who was a first-year head coach at Drexel this season.

• 🏟️ Greg Oldfield took a look at the impact the Philadelphia Union’s young players in getting them to the conference semifinal.

The newsletter today was written by: Matt Ralph @MattRalph_

Thanks for reading!