Monday, November 25, 2013

Source: "Carney looking forward to opportunity elsewhere"

The New York Red Bulls announced today that they would be letting go of defenders Brandon Barklage and David Carney. What was surprising was the fact that they were letting go of the Australian international only after being at the club since August. 

Carney told reporters as recently as October that "the vibes are all good" when asked about a contract extension.

A source from Carney's agency ISC (International Soccer Cooperation) has told MLS Transfers that David is grateful for his time in New York and is looking forward to an opportunity elsewhere.

Although it has been reported that Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh had been chasing Carney since January of 2013, it seems that Petke was not impressed with his play. Carney had spent almost a year without a club and was clearly not fully fit by the time he was called upon to play.

Carney played a total of 840 minutes (playoffs included) over 9 games.

-Marc Kusant (@TheRedestBull)

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Agudelo, Cahill, Montero, Gilardino and more: November 23 Rumor Round-Up

Here are the latest rumors complied by writers and MLS Transfers sources around the world:

What's next for Agudelo? 

        We all know former New England Revolution striker Juan Agudelo couldn't get his work permit to play for Stoke City. So what's next for the 21 year old star? Rumors have been flying of clubs such as Celtic and Valenica wanting his signature but a source close to Juan's agent says he still might sign for Stoke City and go on loan outside of the country.
        The source said, "Juan is in high spirits and knows that something will get done in the next few weeks. He has plans of going back to American and figuring out his options, one of which might be going out on loan for 6 months or a year. Nothing has been decided but clubs are interested."

West Ham "desperate" for Cahill
          A source close to Tim Cahill's agency is letting MLS Transfers know that West Ham United are now in the war to sign Tim Cahill on loan.
          "West Ham contacted us late this week letting us know they are interested in Tim for a loan spell. Tim is resting from World Cup Qualifying and a long MLS season. We will evaluate all cases for loans in the new year."
          More information to come.

Montero wanted by Lazio and Roma
      Fredy Montero, now out on loan at Sporting Clube de Portugal is taking the league by storm scoring an unbelievable 9 goals in 9 games. Various reports are linking him with a move to Lazio if Sporting don't buyout his transfer clause but MLS Transfers has learned that Roma are willing to spend the cash to sign him. A source has said that Roma have been in contact with Seattle but Sounders ownership has let them know it is out of there hands. Sporting has first crack at the player and it seems that they will be willing to pay the fee. If not, Roma ownership has asked Seattle to be first in line to chat with the player.


Quick Feet:

-Hearing from various sources Toronto and Genoa's Alberto Gilardino's agent, Bozzo have not been in contact since the contract offer. Not a good sign for TFC who are looking to sign a superstar striker.

- New York Red Bulls Head of Scouting Cris da Silva is in Brazil today and tomorrow scouting for potential players

- Soccer By Ives is reporting David Ferreira might not be returning to FC Dallas. More information to come


Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Clint Dempsey: To Loan or not to Loan?

Via kononews.com


After the tidal wave of hype and fanfare that greeted the United States captain back to the league that launched his distinguished career abroad, expectations were understandably tremendous. Whether or not Clint has lived up to billing is at this point mostly speculation considering the start-stop transition he’s had with the team.  So far in his short tenure with Seattle, Dempsey has either missed entirely or come off the bench in eight of his first sixteen matches. With the Sounders’ prospects of winning any significant silverware waning, it will soon be time to decide how best to engineer the offseason in order to make sure that the fitness issues that have plagued Dempsey (and indeed, many other squad members) are going to be solved in preparation for the next campaign. 

Undoubtedly, there will a few teams sniffing around in January for a short-term loan.  Fulham and Tottenham have been bandied about in the press with little in the way of actual substantiation, but it’s not unimaginable that one of these former clubs would love to bring on the forward for that time in the Premier League season when matches are coming fast and hard, the table is getting settled, and those lingering knocks are turning in to full-blown injuries.

As captain of the United States National Team, Clint Dempsey’s going to be making whatever decisions he feels will get him in the best shape for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil this summer. United States National Team Head Coach Jurgen Klinsmann has already come out and stated that he wanted players like  Dempsey, Landon Donovan, and Graham Zusi to go out on loan in order to maintain their sharpness during the MLS offseason.  This will likely weigh heavily on the skipper’s mind, but is no way an ultimatum from the German, and I’m sure that Klinsmann and his staff would be more than willing to listen to input from Seattle with regards to Dempsey’s health situation.

The Sounders front-office and coaching staff are going to be understandably squeamish at the prospect of sending their most prized asset back in to battle instead of having him train and condition with his teammates during the club’s preseason camps.  There are only a few positives that I can potentially see for Seattle. 

The most intriguing positive would be the acquisition of allocation money.  It’s still fairly murky (to me and most other non MLS GMs at least), whether or not the Sounders would be able to receive any significant amount of allocation money, but it seems like it would have to be very generous loan fee  in order for the Sounders to benefit financially from their star’s absence.
However, money always talks, and if the Sounders manage to miss out CONCACAF Champions League qualification and the allocation money that comes with it, they may or may not be willing to bite if they can get enough allocation money to help finance that raise Eddie Johnson’s been asking about.

There’s also always the brand recognition.  This will create another news cycle around England and the rest of Europe talking about the Seattle Sounders.  It’s difficult to figure out how to measure the monetary gain from such an experiment, but it’s hard to argue that seeing MLS players being courted for loans from established Premier League sides helps legitimize the team and league both abroad and among some the snobbier domestically-based fans. 

As a Seattle fan, and someone who wants the best for the National Team during the upcoming World Cup, I think what Clint Dempsey probably needs most is the opportunity to heal and then go through a standard pre-season routine.  He’s far more likely to pick up an injury away at Stoke City than he is during 5v5 scrimmages in sunny Arizona.  If he stays with Seattle, he’ll have three months of preseason and 3 months of MLS regular season action playing alongside Brad Evans and (hopefully) Eddie Johnson.  This should be more than enough to prepare him for Brazil. 

I’d love to see Dempsey strut his stuff among the Premier League elite this winter, but I’m far more interested in seeing him strong and healthy for the 2014 campaign and the sport’s greatest event come June 14th

A lot of this will probably depend on whether or not the Sounders’ campaign is able to continue past Thursday night, and how well Dempsey weathers it.  Either way it will be an interesting decision to make come January.  It’s just my humble hope that Seattle and Klinsmann are on the side of caution this winter.

-Ian Lamberson (@the16thdoc)

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Toronto FC targeting Drogba

Two sources connected with Toronto FC have specified that Tim Leiweke and others in the front office are ready to offer Didier Drogba a 2 and a half year deal, starting in July 2014. 

Toronto has offers out on Genoa's Alberto Gilardino and Tottenham's Jermaine Defoe. Genoa have accepted Toronto's bid and is now up to the player to make his decision. A source has said that Tottenham has yet to give Toronto an answer on their bid.

As for Drogba, MLS Transfers has been told that a visit to Turkey is in the plans in December for Leiweke and others. If they have not heard back from Defoe by then, they plan on offering a deal that would keep Drogba in MLS until December 2016.

More details to come.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Fast Q & A with FC Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez

I had a passing moment to question FC Dallas and Peruvian National Team goalie Raul Fernandez. Here's our quick Q & A:

Q: How do you think MLS has prepared you for World Cup Qualifying this past season?

A: I needed to compete at a high level to stay as a starter for Peru. Drew Keeshan's visit was crucial for my decision. We had a great chemistry from the start. Since our first conversation I knew I wanted to train with him. Now we make a strong team. He has helped me recover my best level.

Q: That's great to hear. I know Dallas didn't finish the season strong but are you excited for next season to start?

A: We had a great start but couldn't keep the level, even though Coach Schellas did a great job. I'm disappointed not to reach (the) playoffs.

Raul also added that his agent has a pending conversation with FC Dallas about his future at the club. Should hear soon as a decision is to be made fairly quick.

-Marc Kusant @TheRedestBull