Philadelphia Union
Season Predictions: Who will emerge as the Union’s most important defender?
The Union won last year’s Supporters’ Shield on the back of the league’s best defense. But veteran leaders Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner are gone, leaving a major gap on the backline. Who will emerge as the Union’s most important defender? We polled the PSN for a collection of perspectives.
Jared Young – Danley Jean Jacques
I’m leaving the defensive line for this prediction. With Jakob Glesnes and Kai Wagner departed, a defensive leader will need to emerge to fill that crucial void. There’s no obvious choice, but Danley is the best player whose primary responsibility is defense. Bradley Carnell let Danley and Lukic roam free last year, because he trusted them so much. I expect that Danley will start the season more conservatively, with a top priority to protect the centerbacks, until Carnell sees what he has. Danley should keep the group composed and organized, and keep the Union near the top in the league defensively.
Evan Konigsberg – Olwethu Makhanya
It was a toss-up between Makhanya and Frankie Westfield for this one. I anticipate Westfield’s athleticism and crossing ability will be crucial for the Union this season, growing into a similar role that Kai Wagner had but from the opposite side of the field. However, the 21-year-old Makhanya received Defender of the Year votes last season, and at his young age still has plenty of room for improvement. With Glesnes out the door, the Union are counting on Makhanya to make another jump in performance this season. With how high the Union back line often is, the Union rely on Makhanya often to track down long balls and put out fires. When you consider how young he still is, it’s possible he could make yet another leap this season and be the leader of the Union’s defense.
Matt Ralph – Andre Blake
While the injury concerns continue to be real and the fear over Andrew Rick becoming Matt Freese 2.0 is understandable, Andre Blake is still one of the top three players to ever put a Union uniform on and his ability to make the save no one else in MLS can make will be even more critical as the newly tooled backline gets minutes under their belt. The classic Blake making an unreal stop and minutes later the Union scoring the game-winning goal can’t be understated even with Blake entering the back end of his career.
Owen Boyle – The Goalkeepers
Last year, Andre Blake played 25 games, and Andrew Rick played 18. With a busier schedule, the Union could look to employ a similar structure this season to help Blake prevent injuries and continue to develop Rick. The 2026 Union team will likely have two new starters on defense, along with a handful of backups who weren’t on the roster last year. It may take some time for their new center backs to build chemistry and get to the level we saw Jakob Glesnes and Olwethu Makhanya at in 2025, meaning the goalkeepers may be called into action more often, especially in the early part of the campaign.
Evan Cohen – Japhet Sery Larsen
The front office took a gamble moving on from Jakob Glesnes, and his replacement may very well define this season. Turning 26 in April, Sery Larsen was undoubtedly brought in to be a long-term member of this team. Across a long season with multiple competitions, having confident, capable, and experienced players in the spine of the squad is imperative, and Sery Larsen appears to be a key fixture of the re-designed spine. If the Danish defender settles in well and performs at the level that is expected, the team’s ceiling is high, if he struggles, it plummets.
Matt McClain – Japhet Sery Larsen
In the brief media availability sessions provided by Union head coach Bradley Carnell, we’ve learned that Larsen has come into the team as a new voice with the ability to take on some internal leadership responsibilities. But what may be more important will be his ability to (hopefully) fit in perfectly as a direct replacement for Glesnes alongside Olwethyu Makhanya along the backline as his new center back partner. Makhanya has shown great improvement from his first few appearances and there’s still a lot of room for growth. Makhanya needs a center back partner who can seamlessly gel alongside him while also providing some leadership and experience to help him continue to improve. In steps Larsen, the soon-to-be 26 year old Danish defender with both UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League experience. He comes from a winning-club and helped serve as a key player with SK Brann in the top flight of Norway. He has a great opportunity to make immediate impacts both on and off the pitch, and so far it seems like he’s thriving as a new addition to the club.
Quentin Hall – Jovan Lukić
Center backs like Makhanya and Sery Larsen are the obvious answers, but in Carnell’s system, the real defensive edge starts in midfield. The Union defends by pressing high and pinning opponents in, which means the first line of defense is how well the midfield protects space when that press is broken. While Danley Jean-Jacques is given freedom to step forward and carry the ball, Lukić is the one holding the structure together behind him.
Statistically, Lukić was elite last season: 98th percentile in tackles, interceptions, recoveries, and possession won in the final third, and 80th percentile or higher in those same actions over 90 minutes. What makes him most important isn’t just the numbers; it’s his positioning. He doesn’t need dramatic recovery runs because he’s already where he’s supposed to be. When the press fails, and a gap opens in midfield, Lukić is the one sitting in the hole to put out the fire and break up play.
