While it wasn’t spelled out in the initial news release from the Philadelphia Union, league officials have confirmed that new signing Adam Najem will enter Major League Soccer as a homegrown player.
The Clifton, N.J. native counts as a homegrown because the Union had to acquire his homegrown rights from the New York Red Bulls in order to sign him. They did that by sending the Red Bulls their natural second round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
So Najem will join Derrick Jones and Auston Trusty as homegrown players on the roster heading into the 2017 season.