The impasse between Lee Nguyen and the New England Revolution remains on.
Nguyen ended his training camp holdout last week, but sources have told MLSsoccer.com that the veteran attacker still wants to be traded by New England.
As first reported by MLSsoccer.com on Jan. 11, Nguyen asked the Revs for a trade shortly after the end of the 2017 season, then re-iterated his request after Brad Friedel was hired as head coach in November. Friedel told MLSsoccer.com at the MLS Combine on Jan. 17 that the club would not trade Nguyen, who is under contract through 2018 with two club option years in 2019 and 2020. The 31-year-old did not report for the start of New England’s preseason training camp on Jan. 23, holding out for over two weeks before re-joining the Revs last Friday.
Despite his desire to be traded, the sources said New England are still not entertaining offers for Nguyen. Paul Tenorio reported on Feb. 1 that Chicago and Montreal were interested in the attacker.
Nguyen, who had 11 goals and 15 assists in 2017 and has been one of the most productive midfielders in MLS over the past few years, underwent a physical last Friday and trained individually while the Revs practiced in New England before departing for Tucson, Ariz. on Sunday.
Nguyen did not travel with the team to Arizona, remaining in New England to work on his fitness, according to a team spokesperson. The spokesperson said that it’s possible Nguyen could join the team in Tucson if he becomes fit enough to participate in full-team training before they break camp and return to New England on Feb. 25. The Revs will open the 2018 season on March 3 at Philadelphia.
