This rumor has been rattling around for a few days now... and it seems as though USMNT youngster Juan Agudelo is heading to the Premier League.
Agudelo, 20, has been tracked by Stoke City manager Mark Hughes for some time and Stoke’s new manager has finally got his man.
The New England Revolution forward is apparently out of contract with Major League Soccer on December 31 2013, and under the rules he can discuss a contract with another club when six months or less is remaining on his deal.
Word on the street is that Agudelo has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Potters and will join up with his new team in January. There were also rumors that Stoke met with Agudelo on their recent preseason tour of the US to tie up a deal.
(MORE: Juan Agudelo attracting Stoke’s interest, time to move on?)
This may enrage some fans, especially those of the New York Red Bulls, as MLS will receive no transfer fee for Agudelo. However with the move all but sealed for January, it is believed that Major League Soccer are trying to strike a deal with Stoke in order to sale Agudelo on this summer and get some cash in return.
From his rapid rise as 17-year-old with the US national team, Agudelo’s career has slumped a little of late. But with this new opportunity to join US internationals Brek Shea, Geoff Cameron and Maurice Edu at Stoke, Agudelo’s career may finally reach the levels we all hoped it would.
Agudelo left the Red Bulls last season after being underused by Hans Backe, but soon found himself surplus to requirements with all the craziness going on at Chivas USA. And despite scoring three times in four starts since joining New England in a trade, something hasn’t been quite right.
(MORE: Thursday’s Transfer Rumor Roundup, Juan Agudelo to Stoke)
A knee sprain hasn’t helped matters, but will Agudelo now stay at New England for the rest of 2013? Or will MLS and New York put pressure on the Revs’ to accept a transfer fee from Stoke, as New York and the league would surely prefer being reimbursed for producing a youngster of international caliber... rather than getting nothing.
Jurgen Klinsmann will likely welcome the news of Agudelo moving to Stoke. But will he play in the Premier League? Right now Hughes has plenty of strikers, but with Peter Crouch out of favor and Cameron Jerome under pressure after betting offenses, the Red Bulls academy product could see some playing time before January 1, if a fee is agreed in the next week or so before the MLS transfer deadline.
It all adds up to an interesting scenario, in which the shared interest of the league and certain clubs will play out in the public eye once more. As the Clint Dempsey transfer showed this week, the league has a firm hand in every deal its clubs make.
That very fact may see Agudelo leave now for something, rather than joining Stoke in January for absolutely nothing.