Philadelphia Union adds Julian Carranza on loan as Young DP

• by Paul Kennedy  @pkedit, Dec 27, 2021

Julian Carranza will play for the Philadelphia Union in 2022 on loan from Inter Miami in exchange for a natural second-round pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.

The 21-year-old forward will occupy a Young Designated Player spot. He was one of Inter Miami's first signings before its first season in 2020, acquired from Banfield, but he made only 11 starts in two seasons and scored three goals in 41 matches.

Philadelphia Union sporting director Ernst Tanner:

“He is aggressive in the box and brings the versatility of a natural center forward who fits the profile of a striker we were looking for, as well as our style of play."

The Union will have an option to make the one-year loan permanent.

Inter Miami needs to shake up its roster after the amount of allocation money it has available to spend in 2022 and 2023 was reduced by $2,271,250 as part of the penalties imposed for violating MLS's salary budget and roster guidelines during the 2020 season. 

It sought to re-classify French World Cup champion Blaise Matuidi as a DP for its second MLS season with the maximum three players already on DP contracts: Matias Pellegrini, Gonzalo Higuain and Blaise Matuidi. To get down to three DPs, Inter Miami bought out Pellegrini 's contract and loaned him to Fort Lauderdale CF, its USL League One second team. He has since moved to Argentina's Estudiantes on loan.

Inter Miami was found to have used the incorrect roster categorization for Matuidi and Andres Reyes, who both should have occupied a Designated Player slot. (Reyes was on loan from Atletico Nacional in his native Colombia and spent the 2021 season at the New York Red Bulls.)

Undisclosed agreements resulted in the under-reporting of salary budget amounts for Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, Nicolas Figal and Carranza. (Salary budget amounts include not only salary and bonuses but payments to agents and other clubs as transfer fees.)

"This transaction gives the club flexibility to continue maneuvering the roster, as we aim to improve the squad and achieve our objectives in the 2022 campaign," said Inter Miami chief soccer officer Chris Henderson.