Union coach Jim Curtin didn't mince words when speaking Wednesday at his weekly press conference about the path his club's newest addition, Derrick Jones, took to earn the Union badge.
Jones, 19, who was born in Bantama, Ghana, became the first player to sign with the first team after starting in 2013 at the Union Academy, located in Wayne. His time there was followed by his signing in December 2015 with the United Soccer League expansion team Bethlehem Steel FC.
Jones, who moved to Philadelphia in 2012 and has dual citizenship with the United States and Ghana, signed Wednesday as a homegrown player, the fourth such player in Union history and first since 2012.