Over at Chris Bergin's new website, he's reporting that he has heard Man Utd have signed an MLS player. He is trying to confirm the name. So, who wants to engage in reckless speculation? http://www.ussocceruk.com/modules.p...le=article&sid=84&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Probaby Clint Mathis. They want to win the Champions League again and he's pretty much their only hope. If Fergie can get the most out of Keane, then Mathis should be a snap.
Nah. I think it's Cobi Jones. Fergie probably watched the Mexico game and decided Cobi would make an excellent practice pinata for Roy Keane.
The Burn's Eddie Johnson is slated to train this off-season with Man Utd. According to www.3rddegree.net , however, "No Loan, No sale, Just training....Side rumor: Johnson was the most scouted player at the C.O.T.I.F XIX Torneig Internacional in L’Alcuna the U-20 played in in Spain, and that includes all the Brazilians."
I don't think Johnson could qualify for a work permit/EU passport. Insofar as there is any truth to this rumor, I am pretty sure the player is Santino Quaranta.
How do many of these kids coming out of U.S. high school or college end up playing in Europe before they've had a lot of national team experience? Do they all have relatives of some sort from Europe, or is it easier to get work permits in some countries than in others?
The latter. England's work permit rules are incredibly stringent compared to Germany, Holland, etc. You'll notice that there are hardly any young Americans in England, whereas there are a ton in Germany.
Article said.... "The deal is said to be 'on track' to be a transfer record for the league." So it's gotta be like Beasly or Donovan or..... I can't think of anyone else. Mathis and Wolff are big question marks becuase of injuries. I don't put any value in this rumor because I just can't see Beasley or LD playing for Man U, or them even wanting those two when they can practically have any player they want in the world.
Assuming Bergin literally means "a transfer record for the league" (as opposed to "a transfer record for an MLS player") it can't be Donovan, because the fee would be paid to Bayer. And I agree--I don't think they'd want DMB. No "established" player in MLS is good enough for Man United. That's why I think it's gotta be a youth player, and the only youth player who is good enough and qualifies for the paperwork is Quaranta.
Dude, WPs are part of British national law. Germany, Holland, etc. HAVE NO WORK PERMITS. Only Britain. Only Britain. Only Britain. Only Britain. If it's ManU, it's either got to be a player who is EU eligible (Quaranta and Mastroenni is pretty much the beginning and end of that list, so far as I know) or a player who can get a WP. I personally think it's Quaranta. Mathis isn't good enough for ManU. Q isn't either, but he's several years younger. He ahs the potential to become good enough, which Mathis obviously doesn't. (NOTE: while Ben and I like to joke around about Clint, I'm being serious. He's very good when he's good, but the Man City rumors made hella more sense than Clint to ManU. If they buy Clint, it's because of the YES deal. He can't help them win unless he makes another Great Leap Forward.) Has anyone mentioned Ruiz? That certainly would be interesting. He's a helluva player, and young.
I'm thinking it has to be Adin Brown. If Ajax can fork over 3MM for him, imagine what ManU might pay.
You're wrong here, superdave. Compared to the UK, work permits may be relatively easy to come by in Germany, Holland, etc, but the fact is that these countries do require non-EU nationals to have them: http://www.germany-info.org/relaunch/info/consular_services/visa/employment.html http://www.eurofound.eu.int/emire/NETHERLANDS/WORKPERMIT-NL.html
I honestly believe that Clint would bring a lot to ManU. Imagine how many goals he could score with that midfield feeding him shots. Let's not forget that Bayern Munich, a roughly equal team, wanted Mathis so it's not really outlandish at all.