TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Signing
The Philadelphia Union have signed midfielder Ben Bender, the club announced Friday.
A former Philadelphia academy player, Bender is under contract with the Union through the 2025 season. The 24-year-old was a free agent after spending the last four seasons with Charlotte FC, who selected him first overall in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Maryland.
Bender recorded 8g/8a across 61 appearances for Charlotte before he was waived last month.
“We’ve been following Ben’s development since he joined the Union Academy in 2015 and have watched him become a highly productive young player,” said sporting director Ernst Tanner.
“He had a standout inaugural professional season and has the ability to be a great finisher. He adds a goal-scoring threat to our midfield, and we look forward to seeing his contributions.”
Bender supplements a Union midfield group led by Quinn Sullivan, Jovan Lukic and Danley Jean Jacques. He arrives a month after the club's all-time leading goalscorer Dániel Gazdag was moved to the Columbus Crew in a blockbuster cash-for-player trade.
Sitting second in the Eastern Conference table after their best-ever start under first-year head coach Bradley Carnell (7W-3L-1D; 22 points), the Union are set for a top-of-the-table clash against the conference-leading Crew on Saturday (7:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+).
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