The Los Angeles Galaxy have had an active offseason, with big names headed toward and away from the City of Angels.
As LA Galaxy Insider Adam Serrano notes, A few previously rumored international additions of note could be close to joining the squad, with the LA Times' reporting Saturday that Ashley Cole, Nigel de Jong and Jelle van Damme were all approaching deals.
Writer Kevin Baxter further notes Serie A club Roma settled with Cole to release him from his deal, where he hasn't played since March, and Jolean Lescott is no longer under consideration. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena told Baxter, "No one's signed. It's slowly coming together … And I think we're going to have a strong team."
Subsequent reports broke down the financial considerations of Cole's move (Jeff Carlisle at ESPNFC) and Standard de Liège reached agreement on van Damme's transfer (Belgian journalist Sven Claes). Sunday afternoon, van Damme posted a farewell message to his Instagram account that was later tweeted out by the club.
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Cole, a veteran of three World Cups for England, starred for Arsenal and Chelsea at left back. Van Damme, capped 31 times by Belgium, has made more than 200 appearances for Standard Liege since 2011. De Jong, with 81 caps for the Netherlands, played for Ajax, Hamburger and Manchester City before moving to Milan in 2012.
The pair of defenders would help to offset the loss of center back Omar Gonzalez, who was transferred to Liga MX side CF Pachuca, and de Jong joins midfieldreinforcements in light of Juninho's sale to Club Tijuana.
