Danley Jean Jacques’ offensive impact with Union not a surprise to Fafa Picault

CHESTER — The eight-game glimpse Union fans got of Danley Jean Jacques in 2024 offered hints as to the kind of player the midfielder could be. But the team’s general late-season tumult concealed plenty.

Like many summer arrivals, Jean Jacques’ full impact hasn’t been felt until his first full season in MLS. What the Union have gotten to start in 2025 has included not just elite defensive sensibilities but a surprising touch of offense.

That is, surprising to some. But not to a player who has seen him up close with the Haitian national team.

“I’m very aware of his offensive abilities,” Inter Miami forward Fafa Picault said during last month’s visit to Chester. “Danley is a like a little bro, a lot of potential, hard worker off the ball. At the same time, he’s very good with the ball, very complete player all around. So when I saw him coming to Philly, and I knew ahead of time, I was very happy about it. I think both sides got the good end.”

Picault has gotten to know Jean Jacques well. He played for the Union for three seasons from 2017-19, his first of six MLS stops. Born in New York, Picault got his second and final U.S. national team cap as a member of the Union in 2018, then switched allegiances to represent Haiti in 2023. He’s been capped 15 times and is with the team at the Gold Cup, where Jean Jacques has started both games, including late Thursday night against Trinidad and Tobago.

The offensive side of the ball is not what Jean Jacques is most known for. He didn’t score a goal in 64 league appearances with French club FC Metz, though he had three assists in 2023-24 in Ligue 2. He has five goals in 19 appearances for Haiti.

But this season, Jean Jacques has two goals and three assists in 1,220 MLS minutes, plus a goal in the U.S. Open Cup. His ability to jump into the attack as one of the twin No. 6s in the 4-2-2-2 formation has been vital in shifting the balance in quick Union counterattacks.

“We put a lot of focus on overloads between the lines, and that gives Danley a little bit of space to arrive unaccounted for, maybe to arrive late into the box, or arrive late to supply some crosses,” Union coach Bradley Carnell said recently. “He has a great engine.”

The Union knew of his defensive bona fides, his soccer journey combining the technical skill of his upbringing with the tactical rigor of the French game. The 6-0 midfielder, who turned 25 in May, covers a ton of ground in the middle of the pitch. The Union allowed 55 goals in 34 matches last year (1.62 per game), a big reason for missing the playoffs. This season, the first-place team in the Eastern Conference has conceded 19 times in 18 games.

Jean Jacques’ partnership with Jovan Lukic up the middle is a big reason why. It’s a much more robust defensive posture than using a single holding midfielder between shuttlers like Leon Flach and Jack McGlynn last year. Jean Jacques’ ability to get forward has helped make it more dynamic when the Union create turnovers.

Picault has seen that from afar. And he’s hardly surprised.

“I think what I’m watching over this season is the confidence in him growing, just making him even more of a threat offensively,” he said. “It’s something I’ve seen him do, but I think within this team specifically, as he gets to know the league and his own teammates and get comfortable in his jersey and atmosphere, he’s becoming more dangerous offensively and becoming a threat.”