Tranquillo Barnetta contemplating European return

Not to shock anyone or anything, but we probably could’ve seen this day coming. Rumor mills are rumor mills, and Tranquillo Barnetta was always going to be linked to Europe when his Philadelphia Union contract was due to expire. The club that’s picking up steam as far as a suitor is Barnetta’s hometown club St. Gallen in Switzerland. ‘Quillo came up through St. Gallen’s youth system, and was the first club that he ever played for on a professional level. Admitting to his hometown Swiss paper, the dynamic midfielder said he’s incredibly happy with the Union and his time in Philly and that if he does decide to leave it won’t be an easy decision.

Here’s the opinion part. Barnetta has been integral to the success of the Union in the last year and some change (looking at you, Orlando City free kick) and losing him would be a huge loss for next year’s squad. He’s a three time World Cup veteran, he’s played for Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04. There just isn’t a ton of guys with that kind of experience in MLS. That being said, if, if Tranquillo decides to leave (please don’t) we have an abundance of midfielders that could fill in the gap. Roland Alberg has proved that he can flat out play in a CAM role, and if he needs to, Alejandro Bedoya can fill in the role. Looking at what we have though, let’s just get Barnetta to sign for another year or so and we can just not worry about it.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments.