The news reports and rumors have now become a daily occurrence: With just six months left to the World Cup, US national teamers are on the move in Europe.
Some may call it an unsettling time for some of the top American players. But USMNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann is not fazed by any of the chatter, even if two of his most important starters are at the center of the biggest stories.
"We see that Jermaine Jones has a bit of a struggle at Schalke right now. It's not his first one," he told USSoccer.com on Friday (video below), in conjunction with the announcement of the 26-man January camp. "He'll figure out a way to get out of that one -- if it's a move maybe somewhere else or if he finds his way back into the starting lineup at Schalke, which he often did."
Former MLS star Brek Shea, who scored the game-winner in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final, has already made his move, going down a rung for a month from EPL side Stoke to second-division bottom-dwellers Barnsley. But it's a change that has Klinsmann's stamp of approval.
"We're happy that Brek Shea made the jump over to a Championship team in order to get playing time," Klinsmann said. "That's what he needs now and he doesn’t get that at Stoke City."
Klinsmann was also "pleased" with Seattle Sounders star and USMNT captain Clint Dempsey's "great decision" to go for a two-month loan stint to Fulham during the MLS offseason. And he expressed some concern over Dempsey's transition back to MLS last summer.
"When he came back into MLS he didn't have a preseason. He had no foundation," Klinsmann said. "[Seattle] just threw him straight in, which was understandable,... [but] his base was not there yet for going 200 miles an hour.
"He understands that now," Klinsmann continued. "So now he builds the base last couple of weeks and hopefully now he gets his games with Fulham and then he comes in a completely different shape back to MLS and hopefully continues that path towards the World Cup. By middle of May [World Cup camp] … I think he's going to be in tremendous shape."
