FC Dallas might lose Toja to Europe

Is Juan Toja about to play his final match as a MLS player?

Rumor has it that the longhair midfielder will fly to Romania tonight, after the All-Star match, to finish a deal with Romanian powerhouse Steaua Bucharest.

Then again, it is just a rumor. Accord to FCD coach Schellas Hyndman, "I expect him here to play against LA (on Sunday)."

Although this season has not been as strong as the first half of last year, Toja is still a vital part of Dallas's attack. If he does decide to move on to Europe, FCD will have a difficult time replacing him.

Then there is the ongoing speculation that teammate Kenny Cooper might also be soon to fly across the Atlantic. Those rumors have died down of late, but if both of these ended up being true, it is hard to see a way for Dallas to finish the season in a commanding fashion.

Is the face of FC Dallas about to change in a major way? We'll know within a week.

Brad Friedel sold by Blackburn

US keeper Brad Friedel has been sold, on condition, to an undisclosed EPL club for £2 million. The deal will only go through if the Rovers land another goalkeeper.

Aston Villa is thought to be the undisclosed team, which also happens to be the club linked with fellow American Brad Guzan. Could Villa be an all American stop shop soon or will Stuart Taylor clam a top spot?

Should be fun to watch.

Donovan still interested in EPL

Yanks Abroad reports that Landon Donovan's agent failed to deny a Sky Sports report concerning a possible move by the American to the EPL.

They then report this:

Donovan was recently quoted by the English media giant as saying, "The older I get and the more I play, the more I'm yearning for that highest level I can play at."

"I think the Premiership would be the best place the play."

Sounds pretty exciting and it has caused a bit of a buzz on the internet, however, the quote is actually almost a year old.

There is another part from the interview last year that was missed this time around: "At the moment I'm happy here (LA), at least for the next few years with Dave (Beckham) here. I want to be a part of this too. Not many people get to be a part of this, so I want to live it."

I bring up the fact that this is an old quote not because it means it is no longer valid or that a move will not happen, just to give it a context.

So what will happen with Donovan?

Well he is in a bit of a bind. LA doesn't want to let him go because they want a championship this year and without him, it probably is not going to happen. That would seem to suggest a delay in any move till December, however that means coming in halfway through the EPL season, which will make starts even harder to obtain, which could effect his build up to 2010 (not to mention his availability for qualifiers).

That said, it is time for him to return to Europe and see what he can accomplish. His work over the past six-months has been some of his best and if he is ever to reach the heights we all want him to, he needs to move.

Columbus wants to improve team but MLS's hurt feelings might get in the way

The Columbus Crew want to improve their team by bringing in a quality player from Norway's first division. So what's the problem? The player is Pat Noonan.

Noonan left the New England Revolution after the team decided not to offer him a respectable contract extension at the end of last season (they offered him less money then he made in 2007). Because he was out of contract, Noonan was able to move to Norway without a transfer fee, which means the Revs retained his MLS rights.

For their part, the Crew are willing to pay Noonan a salary similar to what he was earning previously in the US, plus pay a transfer fee to his current club and give the Revs something for his rights, however MLS is not happy. Why? Coach Sigi Schmid has the answer:

"A player that can turn down an offer from the league, go overseas on their own volition and then we as a league have to buy them back," Schmid said. "That's bad business and MLS doesn't want to be in the habit of doing bad business. That's completely understandable."

Schmid is playing the good sport here because really the only thing bad about this whole situation is that New England tried to hardball him in the first place (they would not trade him, thus he had to take their deal or get out of the country).

Noonan is a quality American striker who wants to be treated with respect. The fact that the league and the Revolution failed to do so should not be held against him or the Crew.

Instead the league should get past the hurt feelings caused by someone calling their bluff and do what is best for the sport.

The idea that a team can hold back a player that they no longer have under contract is one that must change or we can expect to see more young American players skip over their domestic league in favor of third tier competition overseas.

Jaqua might return to Houston, at least for a little while

It looks like the Dynamo might be about to solve some of their offensive problems as Nate Jaqua has been offered a contract to return to Houston.

Jaqua left Houston during the off season for a spell in Austria, where he put up some great numbers (5 goals in 10 apperiences). Even with these quality results on the pitch, his club decided not to offer him a new contract.

Houston has been chasing him for awhile now, but it looked unlikely until they added a little twist to the offer. As part of this deal, Houston will promise to trade him to Seattle FC for the 2009 season.

Jaqua is from Eugene, Oregon, and very much wants to play in the Northwest.

It is not clear if this trade will be part of the expansion draft.

This is a smart move by Houston as they need another striker. Sure it will hurt losing him to Seattle, however they will have seven months to find a replacement. Who knows, maybe by then Caraccio might be ready to show something.

It is even a smarter deal if this will count towards the expansion draft as then they will not have to worry about losing any other players.

Spanish club Villareal close to deal for Altidore

Spanish side Villareal and MLS have reached an initial agreement on Jozy Altidore. The transfer fee amount is unknown at this point, but MLS had been seeking $10m for the teenager.

If Jozy moves to Villareal, he will join a club that finished second in La Liga last season, thus has a guaranteed ticket into the Champions League group stage. That is good news and it gets even better as the club is in a bit of a need for offensive talent having scored the fewest number of goals of any club in Spain's top 5.

Jozy's Haitian heritage might also end up playing a role in his move since Spain has very tight restrictions on non-EU players. As an American, he would count against their non-EU limit, however since Haiti has signed the Cotonou Agreement, he might be able to use dual-citizenship to get around the rule.

All and all, this could be the perfect fit for Altidore.

By the way, New Jersey born Giuseppe Rossi also plays for the Yellow Submarine that is Villareal. Rossi is the striker who rejected Bruce Arena's invited into the US camp ahead of 2006. Rossi instead hopes to be part of Italy's senior squad at some point. Maybe Jozy could convince him to get America instead.

Does Toronto really want McBride? How about the Chicago players?

Brian McBride is coming back to MLS, that much we know. The question now seems to be where will he land.

Early indications seem to be that he wants to play for Chicago, his hometown team, but first he would need to get Toronto to let go of his rights. So does Toronto really want McBride?

TFC general manager Mo Johnston is being coy about it saying the team 'needs another striker' but also pointing out that they are, 'sitting on a little pot of gold here.' So is Mo just trying to get the offers up or might TFC be serious?

Meanwhile in Chicago, at least one player is a little concerned about the addition of McBride to their roster.

"If [McBride] is asking for designated player money ($400,000 or more), players might get moved or traded or dropped," Fire forward Chad Barrett said. "There's a good chance he would take my spot, but I think I've gotten off to a good start and am contributing. The coaching staff knows that."

With the way the Fire have played this season, a change might not be the best idea. Then again, I think most people would pick a McBride over a Barrett any day (no offense).

But there is another factor in this move that needs to be resolved. If McBride is going for designated player money, Chicago will need to pickup another DP slot* as they are using their slot for Blanco. So not only would the Fire need to give something to Toronto for McBride's rights, they would also need to give up something else to get the second DP spot. That's a lot to surrender, but maybe we now know why coach Denis Hamlett packed his team with forwards during the off season.

As far as salary cap space, Toronto looks to be close to their limit, so they would probably need to clear about $300k to make space for the $400k portion of McBride's DP salary, while Chicago would only need to free up about $100k. (Allocation money might make these numbers a little different)

My guess is the MLS really wants McBride and McBride really wants Chicago, so the league will find a way to make this happen. Just think how much the MLS brass would love to promote the Blanco-McBride connection. Two legends from the US-Mexico national teams coming together in Chicago.

* Under MLS rules are teams received one designated player slot that they can use to sign a player for more then a $400k a year salary or trade to any other club. Only the first $400k of the player’s salary counts towards the team’s salary cap. No team can have more then two designated players.

Toronto wants Amado Guevara

Toronto FC hopes to strengthen their midfield by landing former MLS MVP Amado Guevara. Guevara was last seen in MLS getting the boot by Chivas USA coach Preki due to poor play and a horrible attitude.

Guevara is a very talented player however he only shows it when he is happy. If he is not fully satisfied with his situation, too often his play suffers.

After spending the last year with Honduran club CD Motagua, perhaps Guevara will return to MLS with a fresh view of the league. And maybe the great atmosphere that rolls through the crowds in Toronto will make him feel welcomed. After all, Mo Johnson and Guevara had a good relationship in New York, so maybe it will work again north of the border*. If so, this might be the move the puts TFC in playoff contention.

*I know Mo is no longer coach of TFC, but as Director of Football, he still plays a big role in what happens on the field.

Ronnie O'Brien leaves turf in Toronto for grass in San Jose

The San Jose Earthquakes have added two-time Major League Soccer All-Star midfielder Ronnie O'Brien to their roster. Last season O'Brien was one of the first big signings of expansion side Toronto FC.

He had a decent year when playing, however a knee injury kept him out for more then half the season. This injury is one of the reasons he decided to move to California, as San Jose will play their home games on grass instead of the turf used in Toronto, which should be less of a strain on his body.

O'Brien was attracted to the Quakes because of the grass playing surface at Santa Clara University's Buck Shaw Stadium. He had complained about the field turf in Toronto.

O'Brien is a quality player when he is happy, however if he feels jilted, his play can drop (see FC Dallas 2006). With O'Brien, the 'Quakes finally have a decent attacking option in their lineup. So far coach Frank Yallop has focused more on defense, which is important, however you can't win if you don't score. Although O'Brien is far from a goal-scoring machine (12 goals in 6 MLS seasons), he is good at starting plays. The question for San Jose now becomes who will O'Brien feed?

Toronto received San Jose's first round pick in the 2009 draft plus an undisclosed amount of money for O'Brien.

Real get their Scottish striker

Real Salt Lake has been looking for a marvelous striker and they think they found one in a Scottish doctor.

Kenny Deuchar has decided to leave his Scottish club Gretna for the wide-open spaces of Utah. Deuchar can be a bit of a scoring machine as shown by his 6 goals in 10 matches while loaned out to St. Johnstone this past fall and his two goals this past Sunday against Glasgow Rangers. In fact, it was the goals against Rangers that convinced Real Salt Lake coach Jason Kreis that Deuchar was his man.

"He was a player we talked to a few weeks ago and knew there was a possibility of something.

"When you go to see a player play against Rangers and he scores twice, it tends to be a bit of an element."

At 27, Deuchar should have a number of good years ahead of him, so might this mark the final stabilization of the team's front line? Combining him with Argentine striker Fabián Espíndola or Robbie Findley should provide Real with a much better attack force then was shown in 2007.

Interestingly enough, Deuchar is also a doctor who worked one day a week at a hospital even while playing with Gretna, which he hopes to also do in Salt Lake.

Real has made some good moves this off-season and should finally be seen as a real playoff challenger. Combine this with their soon-to-be open stadium and it looks like the team from Salt Lake has weathered the worst.

Houston gets young Argentine striker, is a stadium next?

The biggest concern for Houston this off-season has been the lack of forwards in the squad, but it looks like that is about to change.

The team is expected to soon announce the signing of Franco Caraccio from the Argentine Primera División's Arsenal de Sarandi. Caraccio appears to be just the type of player Houston coach Dominic Kinnear loves to work with as he has talent but it needs to be developed.

Caraccio has played on Argentina's under-20 national team, but was mostly a reservist for his club, meaning his experience level is limited making this a bit of a risk for the Dynamo. However, at just 21-years of age, it is a risk worth taking.

Instead of going after a known 30+ year-old, Kinnear has opted to go for youth. Caraccio will have a fantastic opportunity to showcase himself as the speeder striker along side Brian Ching. Combine this with the attacking styles of Stuart Holden and Dwayne De Rosario and the Dynamo again look great up top.

It also appears to be a double win for the club as it looks like they will get him on a free transfer and that he will sign a four-year deal at about $70,000 a year, meaning they should have some money left over for another player.

It is amazing how many things just keep going Houston's way on the pitch and it looks like another might be about to happen off the pitch.

During the whole Houston soccer stadium debate, the mayor has insisted that no property tax revenues would be used to build a home for the Dynamo, however it now appears he is open to using other city monies.

"I'm not saying we won't provide any public funds," White said. "What I am saying is we won't use funds that could be used for providing for essential city services, such as solid waste and parks and libraries and things like that, public safety."

So what does this mean?

White said if public funds were used, they will not come out of the city's general fund or involve new taxes.

The mayor discussed a scenario that would involve property taxes collected by a Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, a special district in which rising property tax revenues are funneled back into the zone for infrastructure improvements to attract further development.

Some of the TIRZ monies could be used to reimburse the city for the land purchase, or possibly for a small portion of the stadium itself, White said.

To sum up, it looks like the mayor is willing to spend some city money to get this deal down. Yet another example of how much Houston wants a stadium downtown.

But the always great Bernardo Fallas points out another sign this move seems to point towards, as it could mean the sale of the team to the 'De La Hoya/Brener people' is almost done.

Could it be that the next couple weeks will see the Dynamo get new owners and a stadium deal? They should be so lucky.

Salt Lake want to snag Brazilian from Australian side

Real Salt Lake are hoping to do in 2008 what DC United did in 2007 and grab a quality Brazilian from Australia's A-League. The player Real has in mind is Queensland Roar's striker Reinaldo.

Reinaldo has been with the club for a little over two season, but really only came into his own over the second half of the current campaign. He has proven to be quick and smart with the ball and can cause havoc with any back line.

If Salt Lake can land him, it should give them a force up top, however, there is something standing in their way, the Colorado Rapids. Yes, their Rocky Mountain rivals hold the right of first refusal due to the allocation list.

Needless to say, both clubs would like to have Reinaldo's service, so the question becomes can Colorado offer him enough to go with them? With the recent signing of Christian Gomez (around $350k) along with the salaries of Mastroeni ($280k), Kirovski ($200k), Petke ($126k) and Hernandez ($130k), Real might have a little more money to throw around (the five players mentioned make up a little less then half of the Rapids total cap).

Hopefully one of these two clubs with land Reinaldo because I think he could bring something really nice to the league.

To see what kind of goal scorer he is, take a look at his goal in this video (play starts around :22).

Chivas USA sign Swiss international Raphaël Wicky

Chivas USA scored something big today with the formal announcement of Raphaël Wicky. The Swiss international has been sidelined of late due to injury (he had surgery in early December), but he is still a very solid defensive midfielder. He played an important role in Switzerland's 2006 World Cup run and at 30 years of age, should have a number of quality years ahead of him.

Wicky fits in well with the technical style of Chivas and should be right at home with Jonathan Bornstein and Claudio Suarez in the back. The only downside I see to the deal (provided that he continues to fully recover from his surgery) is the duration. It is just one year with a one-year option. If Wicky plays as solid as he should, look for Chivas to exercise their option but still trade him away for some transfer money. Also, he might be called in to Euro 2008, so he could be gone for a month mid-season.

Overall, this is one of the best non-South American signings for the MLS this season.

Columbus fail to get their man

Polish captain Maciej Zurawski is heading to Greece instead of Ohio tonight to play for first division side Larissa. Zurawski earned Celtic a £500,000 ($1m) transfer fee.

The move seems to be a result of the Crew and owners Hunt Sports getting outbid, which is a shame as Columbus could really use a true striker up top. Last season the team's 5 forwards only combined for 11 goals.

If there is one plus side, Zurawski would have been gone during Euro 2008, so at least the Crew won't use a very valuable player for a month in the middle of the season.

Brad Guzan not moving to Aston Villa, denied work permit

Chivas USA and MLS Goalkeeper of the year Brad Guzan has been denied a work permit in England due to his lack of national team appearances, thus he will not be joining Aston Villa.

The offer Chivas and MLS had accepted was worth a £2million ($4m) transfer fee. Celtic has also approached Guzan.

Not a good day for a very talented goalkeeper. Even worse, with just five national team caps to his name, he has a long way to go before he will reach the 75% threshold. However, if he does end up staying in MLS, he should be able to get some of those caps over the next year in World Cup Qualifiers.

Taylor Twellman not off to Europe

New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman will not be dashing off to Europe this transfer window as the club has turned down a $3 million offer from Preston North End. This offer was just the latest one from Preston after a $2.5m offer was rejected two-weeks ago. The transfer deal also included incentives that could have added an additional $500,000 to the fee.

This comes as no surprise as the club and the league have been sending not so masked hints that Twellman was not available. With the Revolution going through their biggest roster shift in years this off-season, giving away their all-time goal scorer is not high on their priority list, especially since they don't have another proven striker in their squad.

Twellman is probably very disappointed about this as he wanted to return to Europe, but a large part of the problem is his own. A year ago he signed a four-year contract with the Revs that saw him earn a substantial pay increase, but did not include any sort of transfer trigger or buy-out clause. Had there been such language in the contract, he probably would have earned a little less per year, but he also would likely be heading to England right now.

Concerning the failed transfer, Preston North End chairman Derek Shaw had this to say about MLS:

Unlike the situation over here, it would appear that the MLS do not want to negotiate, they just say yes or no, and I believe that the setup is that the selling club only get 40 percent*, with the balance going to the MLS. It's disappointing because the lad is very keen to join us, but it would appear that the opportunity is not going to be there for him during this transfer window, [which closes tonight].

He makes a couple good points, but again, I don't think the Revs were ever going to let Twellman go, so why spend time negotiating. The simple truth is that even though Twellman wanted to head east, his club cannot afford to lose him.

So what can Twellman do about this now? Perhaps putting in another excellent season while working hard with the younger forwards on the team is the way to go, i.e. show he still has it while training his replacement. Add that to the additional chances he will have with the national team and next year the offer might be a bit too much for the Revs to ignore.

Then again, he could play like crap and demand that he will only improve if he gets to renegotiate his contract, but nothing like that would ever happen in sports.

* I believe that under the current MLS structure, the team actually gets two-thirds of the money or 66.6%.

Columbus in final negotiations for Celtic forward

The Columbus Crew have found the man they want to be their designated player, but will their ownership group find the money needed to make it happen.

Columbus wants to sign Polish Captain and Celtic forward Maciej Zurawski, but Hunt Sports (the owners of the Crew and FC Dallas) have yet to agree on a transfer fee for Zurawski. For his part, Zurawski seems ready to play in MLS. Neither side has disclosed the fee request, but the speculation is it is $1m or less.

Celtic recently signed a number of players including Greek striker Georgios Samaras (on loan from Man City), which would seem to indicate that they are ready to let Zurawski go.

Zurawski is a very talented forward and will bring the team some serious power in attack, as long as he stays healthy. His playing time with Celtic has been less of late due to injuries, but if the Crew can get him back to full health, they should have a wonderful striker up top. He should also work well with Guillermo Barros Schelotto, provided he stays with the squad.

The transfer window closes at midnight tomorrow, so we will know soon if the Hunts are willing to take the financial dive on this one.

DC United gets their own Beckham

He's a great reader of the game, smart with his passes and can kill you on dead balls and he's now part of DC United. Marcelo Gallardo has joined the club as the league's newest Designated Player.

He might not have the hair, fashion or following of Beckham, but Gallardo will be called upon to perform the same basic role of central playmaker. The question now is does he have it in him?

During his recent time with Paris-based club Paris-Saint Germain, he saw limited playing time, but his earlier stint with River Plate (2003-06) showed him to still be a force. Overall, Gallardo should be able to bring some solid technical skills to the team and match up well with Jaime Moreno and Franco Niell.

DC signed Gallardo to a two-year deal for an undisclosed sum (probably around $1.5m a season). This move strongly suggests that Christian Gomez is soon to be playing elsewhere (Gallardo will wear Gomez's old #10), which will surely upset some fans and increase the pressure on Gallardo to perform quickly.

On a different subject all together, is DC looking to be the shortest team in the league. First they go with 5'4" Niell, now they sign 5'6" Gallardo. Must make 6'2" Marc Burch and Zach Wells feel like giants. Also, if this turns out to be a good thing, DC will need to thank none other then the New York Red Bull's Juan Pablo Angel as he encouraged Gallardo to come to MLS. Then again, if it all goes wrong, it is yet another reason to hate the Bulls of New York.

Houston gets wandering backup keeper

The Dynamo might still have some issues on attack, but they have filled a hole on defense. Since trading Zach wells to DC United for Bobby Boswell, Houston has been in need of a backup goalkeeper for Pat Onstad. After looking around, they have found one in Scotland.

Tony Caig has signed with the Dynamo after spending the last four months with Gretna of the Scottish Premier League. Prior to his time with Gretna, he played a little over a year with the USL's Vancouver Whitecaps where he earned 11 clean sheets in 2006.

Caig seems to have some good talent, but other then his time with the Whitecaps, the 33 year-old really hasn't played much since 2001. During three years with Newcastle (2003-06), he did not earn a single cap with the club (he was loaned up for part of a season, but only earned 3 caps then. In total, since 2001, he has appeared just 64 times for six different teams.

This is a bit of a gamble as he will probably see some serious action during Houston's long season, however, Dominic Kinnear is a magnificent coach with an eye for unpolished talent, so the benefit of the doubt is definitely his.

Is Klinsmann the force behind Ngwenya's move to Europe? Is Bayern Munich in his future?

Former Houston Dynamo Joseph Ngwenya has landed in the Austrian Bundesliga, but is this just a quick stop in route to Bayern Munich? Here's the speculation:

The group of people trying to help Ngwenya's career include German coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who was impressed by the striker's performance when they met at Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy.

Klinsmann was the vice-president of an American consultancy firm when he began to work within the structures of the Galaxy leading to his meeting with Ngwenya.

Sources have revealed that while everything is being kept wrapped in secrecy, Klinsmann is the driving force behind Ngwenya's move to Europe.

Klinsmann is set to take over as coach of Bayern Munich when this season ends.
...

Klinsmann's move to Bayern Munich is likely to coincide with Ngwenya's move to the German giants and the apprentice at Karnten in Austria is meant to give the striker a feeling of the tough world of European football.

That is a long way to go just to get a player, but not completely crazy.

The team Ngwenya moved to are only in their second year of existence and currently sit bottom of the table. If Klinsmann was hoping to find a holding spot for Ngwenya, Karnten is a pretty good one.

Ngwenya is a very talented player and deserves a chance at the big time. It would be interesting to see if this turns out to be true and if there are any other MLSers Klinsmann has his eye on for his new club.

One other note of interest from the article, they describe Ngwenya's move as 'leaving the circus of the Major League Soccer in the United States for the tough world of European football.' Always interesting to see how others see you.