Union rookie Fontana in line for his MLS debut

CHESTER » As the Union’s preseason progressed and positional battles resolved themselves, one aspect of the murky world of Union attacking midfielders became clear: For Saturday’s season opener, at least, Anthony Fontana is likely to be the guy.

With Ilsinho suffering a hamstring injury and rumored new signing Borek Dockal stuck in transfer limbo, the position has become the 18-year-old rookie’s to win, which he appears to have done in competition with secondyear pro Adam Najem, at least per Jim Curtin’s vocal vote of confidence last week.

“Any time your manager has that much confidence in you, it’s an amazing feeling,” Fontana said Tuesday at training. “There’s just so many emotions going into this game. It would be my MLS debut. I’m just coming into this week of training, working hard and trying not to think about it, but if I get the call, I’ll be ready.”

Though shorter than most at 5-8, the wait was been long for Fontana. An Academy product out of Newark, Del., Fontana was signed as the Union’s sixth Homegrown player last July after impressing in workouts with the first team and playing in a friendly against English Premier League side Swansea. That deal would be effective Jan. 1, allowing Fontana to recover from what Curtin last week called a pair of hip fractures.

Fontana isn’t concerned about the injuries, though he didn’t delve deeply into them. He said Tuesday that the effects don’t linger in the least and that they owed mostly to “overuse” that he has since scaled back.

Fontana is at the forefront of a generational shift within the Union. While the squad includes veterans, particularly in midfield, with international experience, those ranks were pared down with contract non-renewals in the winter. In its place is a growing corps of Homegrowns, from zero on the roster at the start of the 2016 season to five now.

Fontana and center back Auston Trusty appear set to make their debuts Saturday against New England, the Media native Trusty also working with the first team through most of the preseason. Homegrowns Matt Real (left back) and Derrick Jones (central midfield) find themselves second on the depth chart at their respective positions.

That group has developed a mentality all its own, which includes frequent extra sessions after training is over to work on discreet skills.

“It’s awesome because you get the experience and looking up to these great players where they’re teaching you, and then you also get your friends that you’ve been with for a while,” Fontana said. “…It’s player- and coach-driven, I would say. All of us are always talking about, ‘alright do you want to stay after, get better?’ So the coaches are handling us really well. BJ (Callaghan), he’s always out here with us and helping us, so it’s great.”

The top job at the No. 10 may not be Fontana’s for good. Dockal was in Chester working to the side of practice Tuesday, though the Union offered no official update on the progress of his move from Chinese club Henan Jianye. A source indicates that the Czech midfielder’s move is close to completion, and Dockal was wearing the practice kit with the vacant “10” jersey number on it.

The incumbent midfield starter, Ilsinho, didn’t not train Tuesday as he nurses his injury, with lower-body issues a chronic problem in his two-plus years in Philadelphia.

That would all seem to point to Fontana getting a shot Saturday, a moment that the player has hoped for for a long time.

“A little bit, not too, too much,” Fontana said. “I know that if it is me, I’ll be ready and it’ll be an unreal experience. It’ll be awesome.”