Can you say, "discovery" signing? (Premiership midfielder)

I knew you could... After "Adios, Andy," "Bye-Bye Balboa" and "Released Ross," we have space and need for a number of signings.

There was buzz awhile back about a current Premiership player signing with the Metros, with the nationality of one of the Metros current coaches (which includes MoJo, Scottish legend). With information coming to us from Bergin (some call him Corky; I feel that would be unduly harsh), I am putting two and two together...

Fulham's own John Collins.

http://www.planetfootball.com/article.asp?id=129450&cpid=218&title=Collins+eyeing+MLS+switch

Wouldn't be surprised to see this work out -- an excellent signing, much like Grimandi and Ekelund.

Discuss.

 

Well, we have our allocation and we can certainly use a discovery slot. Now that Andy Williams is also gone, we have one Senior International left on the roster, namely Jamie Moreno:

http://www.mlsnet.com/teams/met/roster.html

If our new #10 is, indeed, a spanish-speaking player from Central or South America, we can safely assume that he won't be carrying a green card. Nonetheless, there's still room on the roster for such a player of foreign pedigree.

Collins was captain of Fulham at one point last season (which I interpret as proof that he must be a leader of some sort, whether vocally or by example), and his skills haven't eroded that much -- he simply wants to play first team ball with the 3 or 4 years he has left. If he is a winger, we could use the help out wide in Bradley's new 3-5-2; I'll take the chance he has enough left in the tank for at least two seasons (assuming he's also durable).

http://www.fulhamfc.co.uk/pprofiles/displayProfile.asp?pid=14&id=313235

Biography:
John joined Fulham from Everton for an undisclosed fee in July 2000. A close and trusted friend of Jean Tigana, John played an important role in seeing that the new management worked fluidly with the existing squad.

A consummate professional and midfielder leader of real class, Collins made an immediate difference to Fulham’s football.

Brought up in Galashiels at the heart of the rugby stronghold of the Scottish borderlands, John drifted away from a potential rugby career and played for Celtic Boys' Club and Edinburgh's Hutchison Vale before he signing for Hibernian in 1984.

He made his Scottish Premier Division debut for Hibs against Aberdeen at Pittodrie at the age of just 17 in the same team as former Everton player Joe McBride, going on to replace McBride as a substitute in the Scottish Cup Final against the same team later that season.

His career blossomed under Alex Miller and in 1988 Collins made his international debut for Scotland in Saudi Arabia. Two years later he made a high profile move to Celtic and although he wasn't able to help the Bhoys break Rangers stranglehold on the league, he became a genuine star player cementing his place in the international set-up.

In 1996, always looking for a new challenge, Collins made the decision to take advantage of the Bosman Ruling to secure a free transfer away from Scotland moving to the French Riviera when he opted to join Jean Tigana's Monaco side.

He won the French League in his first season and enjoyed a successful Champions League campaign the following season when Monaco reached the semi-final stage.

Soaking up the flair and style of the French League and progressing under Monaco's rigorous training techniques, Collins made the best possible preparation for the 1998 World Cup and was one of Scotland's best players of the tournament, scoring a memorable penalty against Brazil in the opening match.


Note that he wears the #10 for his club! Anyone with more specifics on his teams, achievements, statistics, etc., particularly in the last five years or so? It would be nice to shape an informed opinion on a player (for once!).