Union trying again to sign Alejandro Bedoya

For the second consecutive summer, the Philadelphia Union are in talks to bring Alejandro Bedoya here from his longtime French club Nantes.

According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Union are willing to pay Nantes a $1 million transfer fee and Bedoya a salary between $750,000 and $800,000.

Bedoya is a creative midfielder who currently sits atop U.S. national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann's depth chart at the playmaker position. You might wonder why the Union are want sign that kind of player when they already have three quite good ones in Roland Alberg, Tranquillo Barnetta, and Ilsinho.

The answer likely lies in Bedoya's most important contribution at the Copa América Centenario: his ferocious defensive work. His critics during the tournament's early stages (yours truly included) didn't see it at first, but over time it became crystal-clear.

Even though the Union still lack a big-time striker, they need defensive reinforcement even more. That was made especially clear on Sunday. Real Salt Lake ran over the Union's central midfielders and defenders -- the always-crucial "spine" of any soccer team.

If Bedoya brings that Copa hustle here, he can fill the deep-lying central midfield hole left by Vincent Nogueira's departure. A triangle with Barnetta in front of Bedoya and a healthy Maurice Edu would be potent at both ends of the field.

But it's a big "if" -- and it really is the only way Bedoya would fit in. You don't bring a U.S. national team star to MLS from Europe for him to serve as Ilsinho's backup at right wing, and you don't have Ilsinho on the roster for him to back up someone else.

In order to sign Bedoya, the Union would have to make a trade with the Chicago Fire to get to the front of the line established by Major League Soccer headquarters for signing American stars who come home from abroad.

Yes, it's another one of those rules that MLS imposes for the sake of creating parity. At least this one makes a modicum of sense: it prevents the clubs in New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle from stockpiling every big-name U.S. player who wants to join the league.

The Union currently sit at No. 2 in that line. I suspect that a deal with Chicago wouldn't be so hard to make, since the Fire would essentially stay at No. 1. I also suspect that MLS headquarters would nudge everyone to figure something out.

The Union came close to signing Bedoya last year after reportedly offering a $1.2 million transfer fee and a $1 million salary. But talks fell apart at the last minute when Nantes got cold feet.

That the Union and Nantes are talking again seems to indicate as much as anything that Bedoya wants to be here. That's good news. So is the decrease in price for the Union to acquire Bedoya's services. Both the transfer fee and proposed salary are reasonable by MLS standards.

Will a deal actually happen this time? It has to be finished by end of Wednesday, when MLS' summer transfer window for incoming players closes. From what I've heard, there's a lot of intent on all sides to get this thing done.

Stay tuned.

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