Johnson deal held up for work permit reasons (Updated)
According to Ives Galarcep, the Eddie Johnson deal is not dead, but only sleeping, like most of you in the UK are doing right now while I write this. Ives says according to someone with inside information of the negotiations, things are held up because of work permit issues.
The Johnson-to-Fulham deal is still on and the hold-up now centers around Johnson’s ability to secure a work permit. Johnson has played in 72 percent of the U.S. national team’s official matches during the past two years, just short of the 75 percent required to secure a work permit.
He also said that Johnson will meet with a work permit tribunal on Wednesday. Hopefully he and the Fulham lawyers can convince the board that he should play for Fulham.
Thanks to Derek for the tip.
Now the Guardian is giving somewhat conflicting information regarding GAM (Grown Ass Man), Eddie Johnson. They are saying that both Johnson and Norwegian defender Brede Hangeland were both discussing “personal terms” with the club as of last night. They are also saying that Fulham are still negotiating with the K.C. Wizards over the fee for Johnson. Roy Hodgson “was confident of having positive news to announce today”. Well that’s good news. Nothing there about a work permit. It confirms that Johnson has indeed been in London all week and is waiting for MLS to approve the fee Fulham will pay for him.
team still needs moar michael bradley.
[...] Marlon King from Watford. I’ve also read where the hold up has to do with Eddie obtaining a work permit, which would make sense because if I remember correctly, Clint Dempsey had a bit of a hold up last [...]
Well, I think Johnson is defo going somewhere in the UK. He left the USMNT squad for all this week’s fol-de-rol. I’m still not convinced he’s what we want, but we are WOEFULLY short of pace up front, and he’s got that a bunch.
I love the smell of fresh bureaucracy in the morning……
I’ve been thinking about Eddie Johnson. He is indeed fast. But what he really offers is a tremendous amount of potential. I think that with Marlon King, he is a known quantity with not a lot of room for improvement. Two years ago, Eddie looked like a gift from the gods, but injuries and supposed personal injuries had a negative impact on his game.
However, EJ is making the move to Europe, which signifies that he is looking to prove himself in the big pond.
Eddie Johnson has been said to be the best athlete US soccer has yet to produce. I know a ton of people that have been anti EJ for the last year, but I REMEMBER how aghast I was at his talent when he first started playing for the Nats.
I think there is a good chance that he explodes past everyone’s expectations.
Not to be a downer but this is not a player that a Premiership team should be adding in January. He’s a project at this level at best. If true, this is a discouraging indication in my mind about what options are available.
yeah, but project or not, no harm in getting him now and giving him a few months to acclimatise to the game. If we buy him in the summer he might not be ready to contribute until November. So better to get him in early if you think he’ll be a player.