AMSTERDAM – While US national team midfielder Alejandro Bedoya is in Brazil getting ready for his first World Cup, his club side Nantes is back in France preparing a contract extension offer to beat back growing transfer interest.
The 27-year-old Florida native is coming off a solid first season in Ligue 1. Sources on both sides of the Atlantic have informed MLSsoccer.com that three clubs in the French honor division have ideas about snatching up Bedoya – which is among the main reasons Nantes are working to extend his pact past its current summer 2016 expiration date.
"There have been discussions with Nantes about a new contract," Bedoya's agent, Lyle Yorks, confirmed to MLSsoccer.com. "His mind is only on World Cup right now, but the club is going to set up a meeting after it is over, whenever that may be."
In addition to the blossoming interest shown in Bedoya, his strong debut campaign and the continuing legal wrangle over a Nantes transfer ban are also making the team eager to tie him down. After arriving from Helsingborg last summer, he notched five goals in 31 Ligue 1 outings and added a game-winner against nearby rivals Lorient in his only Coupe de la Ligue match.
Bedoya bagged two goals down the stretch as Nantes staged a solid survival rally to finish 13th in their first Ligue 1 campaign since 2009-10. The Canaries will kick off the new season with an August 9 visit from Lens.
