AMSTERDAM – A pair of veteran American defenders will become free agents next month, as Charlton’s Oguchi Onyewu and Derby County’s Zak Whitbread will not have their contracts renewed, their respective English Championship employers announced Tuesday.
Onyewu, who will turn 33 on Wednesday, joined the Addicks last Halloween following a strong six-month spell with league rivals Sheffield 1564375463" tabindex="0">Wednesday. The center back struggled at Charlton however, limited to 133 minutes of action in three appearances this season.
On the other hand, Whitbread shined in 11 outings for Derby this term. His problem, as usual, came down to repeated visits to the injury shelf. The Rams lost just once in his 15 appearances over two seasons, but calf and hamstring setbacks cost him a total of 39 missed games.
Though the players are already able to seek new clubs, they will not officially be let go until 1564375464" tabindex="0">June 30 if they remain unsigned.
Meanwhile, in Sweden, it appears that Heath Pearce could also be leaving Allsvenskan leaders IFK Göteborg in June. The club holds an option to extend the 30-year-old’s contract, but with Pearce yet to appear for the Angels, both parties may well explore other options.
"No decision has been taken yet, but I have said that in the end of May I'll have a talk with Heath," Göteborg technical director Mats Gren told Swedish daily Expressen. “He has national team credentials from the US and of course wants to play. But we’ll see what happens.”
