Union’s McInerney would consider playing in Europe

Philadelphia Union v Chicago Fire Jack McInerney is gaining national recognition with his stellar MLS season. He said he would love to play overseas.

He was the early-season favorite to win MVP. Yet even Jack McInerney didn’t see this type of start to his MLS season.

“No, I definitely did not [see this coming],” said McInerney. “I didn’t even know whether or not I’d be in or out of the starting lineup, so for me to have this kind of start is still pretty surreal. Hopefully it’s something that I can keep going.”

McInerney has a league-leading 10 goals through 15 games as the Union sit in third place in the Eastern Conference at 6-5-4. They defeated the Columbus Crew, 3-0, last Wednesday in a game where McInerney didn’t register a goal. He was happy to see others get involved.

“For me, it was a sigh of relief,” he said. “For other people to create some chances themselves and score some goals was huge. I felt a lot of pressure come off my shoulders. For us to get three goals with me not being a part of any of them, shows you how dangerous we can be.”

McInerney’s been playing so well that many analysts think he should have a look on the national and European stage.

“For me, that would mean everything,” McInerney said. “To play in a World Cup is my ultimate goal. To eventually play on a World Cup team would be the highlight of my career. In terms of playing in Europe, if the right opportunity came along I’d definitely consider it. It’s something I considered even before moving into the MLS. If an offer was there then I wouldn’t be opposed to looking into it.”

For now, McInerney is doing all he can to add to his totals and send the Union back to the playoffs.

“As a forward that’s my job [scoring goals] and to win games you have to score,” he said. “If I’m doing my job then that probably means we’re doing pretty well in the standings. Other players are going to have to step up if we’re going to make the playoffs, but right now I’m playing well and if we can keep stringing some wins together we’ll be atop of the standings soon.”

McInerney and the Union play D.C. United Wednesday (7 p.m.) in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. The winner heads to the quarterfinals on June 26.