There was never any doubt that the Union wanted their new sporting director to continue the club’s admirable track record of investing in its youth academy, and developing players from it who can play in MLS.
But as Ernst Tanner was introduced on Thursday, there was an additional signal: that the Union want better foreign signings too, and are ready to back that desire up with real resources.
Union owner Jay Sugarman described Tanner, a 51-year-old German, as “someone who has successfully executed a development-driven model: someone who can ID talent, recruit talent, can help develop that talent, and then has a successful track record in the transfer market of having other clubs recognize that talent.