News that Cedar Stars Academy has signed Tampa Bay Rowdies midfielder Leo Fernandes and defender Hunter Gorskie is a bit premature.

A source told FrontRowSoccer.com Monday night the Cosmopolitan Soccer League team is talking to both local players as their United Soccer League has not yet released them.

A third player, defender Jimmy Mulligan has signed with Cedar Stars through December.

All three players, who are from the metropolitan area, are former Cosmos, fueling speculation that they will return to the team for the NPSL Founders Cup in August.

That competition will kick off the National Premier Soccer League professional league as the competition will run from next August through November. It will involved 11 teams, including the Cosmos, who last performed in the North American Soccer League in 2017. The club did have a team, Cosmos B, participate in the NPSL last summer.

A full NPSL pro league is slated to kick off in the spring of 2020.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.