Nelson Pierre has been announced as the first official Philadelphia Union II signing of the MLS Next Pro era.
The 16-year-old, who will turn 17 in a couple weeks, has been part of the Union II squad as an academy player after starring at all of the age level academy teams. He earned some first team minutes in Clearwater this preseason.
“At just 16 years old, Nelson is already an exciting young talent and he’s working every day to mature his game,” Union II head coach Marlon LeBlanc stated in a news release. “He brings natural, elite-level pace as a number nine and will continue to improve his off-the-ball movement and counter pressing coordination alongside another striker in our aggressive system.