KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Three Sporting Kansas City players were among the 35 players made available Friday for Major League Soccer’s inaugural Re-Entry Draft.
Veterans and long-time Kansas City players Jimmy Conrad (out of contract) and Josh Wolff (option declined) were the most notable inclusions, while defender Aaron Hohlbein (out of contract) will also be a part of the draft pool.
Conrad declined comment via text message on Friday afternoon while Wolff told the Kansas City Star earlier in the week that he was interested in continuing his career despite the club declining to bring him back at his current salary.
The Re-Entry Draft, which will be held over two stages on Dec. 8 and Dec. 15, will allow clubs to pick up players at either their option salary or to negotiate a new salary for those out of contract. Teams cannot pick their own players, but will have the opportunity to renegotiate with them following the first stage.
Kansas City hold the eighth pick in the draft and manager Peter Vermes and the coaching staff have repeatedly said they aren’t sure how the process will play out in its first year. In comments to the Star, Wolff agreed but noted it was a step forward from a player’s point of view.
"I think from the coaching and the staffs around the league, that people are a little gun-shy this first time around," Wolff said. "But only because it’s new. You’ll get a better sense of how things move this year and then you’ll be able to see what happens down the road. It’s a good thing for the players. We’re certainly a lot better off now than we have been in the past 15 years."
Nielsen re-signed?
While some of Sporting’s other veterans found themselves in the re-entry draft pool Wednesday, reports out of Denmark had goalkeeper Jimmy Nielsen returning to Kansas City in 2011.
Though the club has yet to officially announce anything and the coaching staff has thus far been reticent to comment on ongoing negotiations, the Danish media reported this week that Nielsen has signed a one-year deal with Sporting, extending his stay in MLS after filling the gap left by Kevin Hartman’s release.
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