Collin, Ranjitsingh plug final roster holes

After a long offseason wait, the Philadelphia Union signings are coming thick and fast.

The only hiccup is that Friday’s moves are players who under ideal conditions won’t see the field much.

The Union officially re-signed defender Aurelien Collin and added, as expected, a fourth goalie in veteran Greg Ranjitsingh.

Collin’s signing is anticlimactic given that he’s played throughout the preseason. The 35-yearold Frenchman is a veteran of 182 MLS games for four clubs, joining the Union before the 2019 season. He’s the only player on the roster to have won MLS Cup, from his days in Sporting Kansas City.

Collin has played just six games in two seasons, including none last year, but he’s a valuable fourth center back. He falls into the category of soccer minds that the Union could retain post-retirement if Collin has coaching aspirations. (He spent most of Wednesday’s friendly against D.C. United, for instance, in tactical conversation with newly acquired defender Stuart Findlay.) He’s also a valuable glue guy in the locker room and renowned worker on the training pitch.

“We are pleased to have come to an agreement with Aurelien and welcome him back to our roster for the 2021 season,” sporting director Ernst Tanner said in a team statement. “His veteran presence has been invaluable for the club and we appreciate the guidance and knowledge he brings to our young team.”

Ranjitsingh, 27, will fill the fourth goalkeeper role, a necessity given that two of the guys in front of him could be away for international duty. Andre Blake will miss time captaining Jamaica at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and in World Cup qualifying next fall. Matt Freese, though he ended up as the third-stringer for the U.S. Under-23 team’s failure to qualify for the Olympics, could get called into senior team camps.

Ranjitsingh is cover behind fellow former Orlando City backup Joe Bendik. The native of Ontario worked his way up through USL, attending Mercer University before winning back-to-back titles at Louisville City in 2017 and 2018. He earned a job with Orlando City and spent last year with Minnesota United, making five MLS appearances.

Ranjitsingh has one cap in 2019 with Trinidad & Tobago and on their 2019 Gold Cup squad, but the Union apparently feel secure that the Soca Warriors won’t be calling him anytime soon.

The signings give the Union 28 players on the 2021 roster. The two open spots, under the league maximum of 30, are senior roster spots.