Former Union homegrown Anthony Fontana signs with Dutch club PEC Zwolle

Anthony Fontana is back on the move.

The former Philadelphia Union midfielder has signed with Eerste Divisie club PEC Zwolle, with his contract lasting until the end of the season with an option for a second year.

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Welcome, Anthony Fontana!#peczwolle

— PEC Zwolle (@PECZwolle) March 8, 2023

Zwolle currently competes in the second division of Dutch soccer, where it sits in first place after 27 games. It won its last match by a score of 13-0 against F.C. Den Bosch, which sits at the bottom of the Eerste Divisie.

Fontana, a Newark, Delaware native, signed a Homegrown contract with Philadelphia in 2017, and made his first appearance for the first team in March 2018. He finished his MLS career with eight goals and two assists in 44 games, just 10 of which he started.

While Fontana was a strong attacker in Philadelphia, he often struggled to find a strong place in head coach Jim Curtin’s formations. He played his best soccer as a super-sub, scoring 6 goals in just 510 minutes in the 2020 season.

After the Union, Fontana moved on to Italian second-division side Ascoli in 2022. Fontana spent less than a year with Ascoli, where he made just one appearance in Serie B and another in the Coppa Italia.

The 23-year-old will try to strengthen Zwolle’s squad through the back third of the season as the club seeks promotion. He will do so alongside former teammate Union teammate Haris Medunjanin. The 38-year-old Medunjanin signed with Zwolle on a free transfer from FC Cincinnati last August and has four goals and a pair of assists in 15 appearances and 999 minutes in all competitions this season.