It’s been a slow offseason for the Philadelphia Union, who made one foreign signing, extended a couple of current players, and are pushing a couple more homegrown guys through the system as they prepare for next month’s Champion’s League games.

Here’s a new rumor now, which first popped up via Kristian Dyer:

Flach is an interesting player. He has German parents and currently plays there, for a team named St. Pauli, but was born in Texas while his father was working in Houston. He’s only 20 years old and is a combination left back/defensive midfielder.

Flach’s name also appears in BILD, which is a German sports site. The translated article is titled “Philadelphia Wants Flach” and reads like this:

“Nine short appearances, one goal – Leon Flach (20) is considered a promising talent at FC St. Pauli. That will now develop elsewhere …

The defensive midfielder faces a move to the United States and the Philadelphia Union, negotiations are ongoing. Major League Soccer (MLS) is due to start in mid-April after various Corona postponements, the transfer window is open there.

A change from Flach, who still has a contract in Hamburg until 2022, would bring St. Pauli around 250,000 euros into the cash register.”

According to that article, the Union would pay 250,000 Euros for the transfer, which equates to about 300,000 American dollars. That’s chump change for Flach when you consider that the Union just pulled in millions by transferring Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie to Salzburg and Genk, respectively.

The thing about Flach, and others with similar backgrounds, is that they are dual nationals who hold American passports. That makes it so much easier to make these transfers because he is a U.S. citizen who doesn’t have to go through the same hoops as your typical foreign signing. He also would not take up an international slot on the Union’s roster, and at 20 years old, he’s the type of young player Sporting Director Ernst Tanner likes to go after.

RE: position, the Union don’t necessarily need a left back or defensive midfielder, because they’ve got Kai Wagner and Jose Martinez starting in those spots, but depth is necessary. Martinez, unfortunately, was injured in Saturday’s preseason scrimmage and Wagner will probably be transferred back to Europe at some point, so Flach seems like a signing that would make sense for a variety of reasons.