Football
ESPN staff 6y

Philadelphia Union add Czech midfielder Borek Dockal on loan as DP

The Philadelphia Union signed Czech Republic international midfielder Borek Dockal as a designated player on Wednesday.

Dockal, 29, moves to MLS on loan from Chinese club Henan Jianye, where he scored four goals in 23 starts last season.

Philadelphia sporting director Earnie Stewart said fills the Union's need for a central playmaker, alongside Haris Medunjanin and Alejandro Bedoya.

"When we set out to identify targets for our No. 10 position that would be a good fit within our system and parameters, Borek stood out as a leading candidate from the very beginning," Stewart said in a statement.

"We believe Borek has the quality to make everyone around him better. This deal took time and patience to complete and we are excited to welcome him to Philadelphia."

Before his year in China, Dockal played four seasons at Sparta Prague, and also had stints at Rosenborg, Slovan Liberec and Konyaspor, scoring 79 goals with 93 assists in his 10-year career.

He has earned 35 caps for Czech Republic and played in seven games of their recent World Cup qualifying campaign.

To free up a designated player slot for Dockal, the Union used targeted allocation money to buy down the DP contract of David Accam, meaning Dockal will make at least more than the $750,000 base salary that Accam earned last season.

^ Back to Top ^