For the fifth time this year, a Sporting KC player is being linked with a potential move abroad. Sky Sports in the UK is reporting that Norwich have put in a bid for Sporting KC forward, and last year's leading scorer, Kei Kamara. Sky is reporting that Kamara, who was named Sierra Leone player of the year, is in the last year of his contract, which would make sense following MLS's traditional 4 year contracts, since he signed one in the offseason after KC traded for him from Houston in 2009.
The bid according to Sky Sports has been received by the league, the question would be whether both the league and the team agree to selling the player. Both have to agree to selling the player. KC has rejected a transfer deal in the past, in fact, OnGoal did that with Eddie Johnson only hours after they bought the team from Lamar Hunt.
With Kamara possibly in the last year of his contract, it brings up an interesting debate, similar to the one that was had last year with Roger Espinoza. Should KC sell Kamara, looking to cash in on the player, or ride out his contract and potentially let him leave on a free next January the way Espinoza went to Wigan?
I'm sure there will be people on both sides. Initially I'd say absolutely not do you sell Kamara. He's one of only 3 players to score 9+ goals each of the last 3 seasons in MLS and led the team in scoring with 11 league goals last year (12 in all competitions). While Sporting have brought in Claudio Bieler to be the go to goal scorer, Kamara's presence on the wing causes defenses all kinds of trouble and would be sorely missed in KC's system.
Whether this happens or not will remain to be seen, but Kamara joins a growing list of Sporting players, along with Espinoza (Wigan), Matt Besler (Southampton), Graham Zusi (West Ham), and CJ Sapong (Arsenal), linked with a move to an EPL club this offseason. The draw backs of being a successful club in MLS means you're going to see rumors like this from teams looking to bolster their lineup on the cheap.
UPDATE
According to The Daily Mail, Norwich has put in a £1.2 million bid for the striker, that's about $1.9 million US. Not a bad price considering what MLS clubs normally get, but I'm not sure it's enough to entice KC to sell right now.
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
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2 comments:
I trust management. Ownership is not desperate for cash and is therefore unlikely to make a rash decision.
If an offer is accepted then it probably is good compensation for a player of Kei's importance in a contract year.
I would be surprised if they agree to the transfer in January. However, I could see them making a deal during the summer transfer window. I'm sure they want to see how well Bieler fits in, if Teal recovers by mid summer and doesn't have any set backs, how well Soony and Dom develop, if Convey stays healthy, if we are in contention, etc.
Granted, the offer might not be there this summer and w/ his contract almost up, the offer may go down.
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