Nathan Harriel signed to Philadelphia Union homegrown deal for 2021

United States Youth National team defender Nathan Harriel will join the Philadelphia Union on a homegrown contract in January 2021, the team announced on Friday.

“Nate is a promising young player who has a lot of potential to thrive in our style of play,” Union Sporting Director Ernst Tanner said in a news release. “He can dominate wide areas with his speed and looks to play forward quickly after winning the ball. His versatility on the backline makes him a valuable asset to the team and we look forward to watching him develop as he continues to progress through our system.”

The Oldsmar, Florida native joined the Philadelphia Union Academy from Chargers SC in January 2019 and graduated from YSC Academy six months later but stayed on for a post-graduate year and made 23 appearances in the USL Championship last season as an amateur and started Union II’s only game this season back in March.

He de-committed from Clemson prior to joining the Union’s academy.

Though he never played for Orlando City’s academy, Oldsmar is inside their homegrown territory so they had a claim for his MLS rights. The Union are sending Orlando City their first round pick in the 2021 SuperDraft for Harriel’s rights.

He’ll play out the rest of the 2020 season in the USL Championship on a USL contract.

Matthew Ralph

Matthew Ralph is the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now. He's covered soccer at all levels for a decade in the Philadelphia region and has also written for TheCup.us, NPSL, PrepSoccer and other publications. He lives with his wife and two young children in Broomall, Pa., but grew up in South Jersey and is originally from Kansas.

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