HARRISON, N.J. – The Red Bulls have signed midfielder Marcus Epps to a Major League Soccer contract, the club announced Wednesday.

Epps, 24, was selected by New York in the MLS waiver draft in December after spending two seasons with the Philadelphia Union.

“I’d like to officially welcome Marcus to the club,” sporting director Denis Hamlett said. “We moved up to select Marcus in the waiver draft because we believe he is a talented player who fits our philosophy. We are glad to get this deal done at the start of preseason and look forward to getting him integrated into our squad.”

The Red Bulls traded up in the waiver draft to select the 6-foot, Epps, who played 1,318 minutes over 32 MLS appearances for the Union over two seasons, recording three goals and three assists. He played four years at the University of South Florida before being selected 25th overall by the Union in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

“Marcus has a lot of qualities that we like,” head coach Chris Armas said. “His ability and willingness to take players on and run behind as well as his attitude make him an exciting addition. We’re glad to have him as part of our group.”

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.