AMSTERDAM – Another transfer window will soon be upon us, and as has become customary, a bit of the market glare will fall on US internationals based in Europe.
Sometimes these Americans are found battling a tough club situation, sometimes they have sparked interest with inspired play and sometimes they are simply running out of contract.
Whichever file their transfer case is drawn from, stateside observers will definitely want to keep tabs on the three US national team players most likely to change address in January. We've perused the foreign papers and made some calls to set the general scenes before all the legit wrangling/tabloid articles start flying about.
Jozy Altidore
For all the reasons – his fault and not – that the forward has failed to light up the stadium at Sunderland, a year-and-a-half of waiting for that is just plain long for everybody involved. Neither player nor club was interested in seeking a transfer a few months ago, but time marches on and things change.
Now that Altidore is still on the wrong side of the lineup card, the wait has become downright laborious, what with Black Cats manager Gus Poyet slow to any attempt at fixing things that are clearly broken. After they lost 8-0 to Southampton a couple weeks back, the boss started nine of those players in the next match – and the two who came into the lineup were on for five goals against in 30 minutes of the Saints blowout.
Long story short, anyone who can think of a way for Altidore to salvage his Sunderland tenure is a dream weaver. Sure, maybe Poyet gets canned and the next guy actually attempts to put his strike stable in the best situations for success, but the team will still have much of the same ineffective setup crew. US national team fans would love for Altidore to enjoy a breakout there, but unless it happens soon, the moving van will start warming up on the sidelines more than he does.
So where is he going? Clubs from France and the Netherlands called this summer and some may call again soon. Of note: Then top admirers Lille still have not solved their woeful scoring problem – despite conceding just 10 times in 12 games, they currently stand 12th in Ligue 1. The Eredivisie is "been there, done that" territory and most any Championship move would only take him further away from the style of soccer he excels playing. Major League Soccer teams will also call again, but a return is unlikely.
So it all may hinge on whether another EPL team will take a shot on the US striker finally turning prolific, because twice unfinished business weighs heavy. If not, plenty will take that chance, and happily tactical France could beckon.
Mix Diskerud
Norwegian giants Rosenborg have one game remaining in the Tippeligaen season and less than two months to re-sign the man we all call "Mix" to a new deal. As of New Year's Day, the midfielder becomes a free agent, and there will be no shortage of applicants for his service from all over the globe.
The rumors are already starting to fly. In the last week, separate Norwegian reports have claimed that a) former MLS suitors Columbus recently sent scouts out to watch him play for RBK & b) teams from Qatar were calling to pitch a lucrative Middle East move.
Though not one to discuss such matters publicly, Diskerud did tell reporters this weekend that he had no knowledge of a Crew visit. He also politely stated that he would only be pondering his options after discussing his future with Rosenborg.
So where is he going? Diskerud is a very loyal guy, but he is also one to get excited about the idea of performing in the United States for a while. That said, he might also be tempted by other European leagues like the Eredivisie, or even the Bundesliga. As nice as the money would be, a move to Qatar would do nothing for his career and Mix has US call-ups to consider.
Brek Shea
What the Stoke City winger, currently on loan to Birmingham City, really needs more than anything is a club that has a stake in developing him. Shea is talented enough to draw interest, but needs minutes, minutes, minutes above all else. His loan spells have not done the trick thus far, with both the Brums and Barnsley otherwise preoccupied by being mired near the bottom of the table during his stay. Team with immediate needs don't have time to start projects with players owned by other clubs.
It would be nice to see Shea sold to a team that can put him in project mode and/or view him as an appreciable item to sell later. Stoke are surely up for it, so now it's a matter of which club(s) will move for the bargain project with upside when his Birmingham loan ends in mid-January.
So where is he going? There will be interest from MLS and it will be very tempting to a player with just 201 first team minutes of action since March. He could surely still drop down an English level or two from Stoke, perhaps even on a full transfer. Shea may well take it, too. It says here, though, that a move to a mid-table Dutch club for advanced soccer schooling, or a return to MLS are the most attractive options.
