After playing his final game for Liverpool, Steven Gerrard is getting ready to head Stateside.
LA Galaxy’s head coach Bruce Arena spoke about Gerrard’s imminent arrival in California following their 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.
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Gerrard, 34, is currently on a end of season break in Dubai but is expected to arrive in the U.S. in the coming weeks as he prepares for his much anticipated debut in Major League Soccer.
Arena, who has seen his defending MLS champs go through a sticky patch to start the season with five wins from their opening 14 games, is eager to integrate Gerrard as quickly as possible.
It was also confirmed that Gerrard cannot play for LA until after July 8 when the summer transfer window reopens. The Galaxy’s first game after that date is against Liga MX side Club America in the International Champions Cup on July 11 at the StubHub Center.
Gerrard’s arrival, along with that of Frank Lampard, will bring a whole raft of new interest into MLS from overseas with fans in England particularly interested to see how the former English national team and Premier League legends get on in North America as Designated Players for their respective clubs. If Kaka’s opening few months in MLS is anything to go by, we are in for quite a treat over the next few seasons as some of the best attacking midfielders in recent history will ply their trade in the U.S.
Lampard, 36, could make his debut for New York City at Yankee Stadium against Toronto FC on July 12.