On Tuesday, Canadian forward Tosaint Ricketts tweeted that the friendly between Manchester City and Dynamo Dresden, the club with whom he has been on trial, was a “life highlight.”
But later that day, after being omitted from the game, Ricketts merely tweeted “what a blow” after it had been revealed that the Romanian FA had blocked him from potentially signing a contract with the 2.Bundesliga side.
Ricketts, an Edmonton, Alberta, native, had been previously told that he would be allowed to leave Romanian outfit Politehnica Timisoara after five months without pay. In an interview in June with Canadian soccer website The11.ca, Ricketts revealed that even the Romanian Federation said that he should “just leave.”
But on Wednesday, German newspaper Bild reported that the Romanian Federation is demanding that Dresden either pay a transfer fee to Timisoara or take him out on loan, signalling that they still regard his contract with the club as valid. It seems Dresden may not think Ricketts is worth the trouble.
“If the contract proves too difficult,” Dresden manager Ralf Loose was quoted as saying, “we’ll just have to do without him.”
Ricketts has impressed with Dresden, scoring four goals in three games, but it may all be for naught as Bild reported that his work permit in Germany could expire as early as Thursday, sending the Canadian striker back into limbo.
In June, Ricketts told Canadian media in Toronto that he would be freed from Timisoara, the club he joined in 2010 when they were first place in the Romanian league and had a Champions League berth. Financial difficulties saw them relegated, however, and Ricketts saw his move from Finnish side MyPa turn into a nightmare.
Ricketts' contract with Timisoara is scheduled to run until the end of June 2013.
