They probably figure there are so few soccer players that everybody who is good knows everybody else who is good.
One of the player development honchos at ManU is a former Dallas Tornado and good friends with Kenny Sr. I believe that is what got the ball rolling.
fyi, the british press will make up complete stories, so it would not be surprising if cooper said 'it would be totally excellent to play for your country' , but they inserted 'brilliant' for the local audience. not saying it happend, but it could.