Ironically on a day when four Americans face off in an FA Cup match pitting Everton (Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Landon Donovan) vs. Fulham (Clint Dempsey), another U.S. teammate Tim Ream officially completed his signing with Bolton.
He inked for 3.5 years with the EPL squad that is struggling to stay above relegation. Bolton is currently 17th out of 20 teams (the bottom two get relegated) over halfway through the season (22 of 38 matches played already).
The 24-year-old defender, formerly of the New York Red Bulls, had to cut short his honeymoon in Tahiti to head to England.
Ream convinced Bolton manager Owen Coyle of his worth while training in December with Bolton's squad and completed a transfer from Major League Soccer's New York Red Bulls on Thursday.
"I was married for all of 24 hours when I got the phone call," Ream said. "The manager asked if I'd be willing to cancel the honeymoon and come to Bolton and honeymoon here. As much as we were disappointed that we had to pass up the trip, I think we both knew it was in our best interests. Hopefully, it shows my commitment to being here and doing well here."
Ream's wife took a little more convincing.
"I can't really repeat what she said," Ream said. "But her and I have talked, and as long as we're together in whatever we do I think both of us will be happy. She wants the best for me, and I just want her to be happy.
Ream fills the gap in Bolton's roster created by the sale of Gary Cahill to Chelsea earlier in Europe's January transfer window.
Stuart Holden, an American midfielder, is also on Bolton so Ream will have a familiar face around the training grounds and at the games.
Ream's transfer fee of $2.75 million is the highest ever for an MLS defender and sixth highest for an American player-behind Maurice Edu, Jozy Altidore, Stern John, Howard and Dempsey.
"I knew there was interest in me when I came over last year and trained for a couple of weeks, and then after Christmas time things really did start to ramp up," Ream said. "Negotiations started, and that's when I knew things were getting serious. Even before that week I aimed to challenge myself in England and, if an opportunity arose, I wanted to come over and try to make it here."
Coyle is sure Ream has what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.
"He is a U.S. international - a player that year-on-year has progressed and got better, and he will continue to do that," Coyle said. "Tim is everything that we want in the players we are bringing to the club when we spend in the transfer market. He is young, has a tremendous attitude and a winning mentality."
A finalist for the MLS Rookie of the Year award in 2010, Ream was selected to the MLS All-Star team last year and has played seven times for the U.S. national team.
"This was a hard decision for me considering the fact that I enjoyed playing for the Red Bulls and was looking forward to the upcoming MLS season," Ream said. "However, after consulting with those closest to me, I decided that this was a once in a lifetime chance that I could not pass up."
Let's cross our fingers for a couple things: Holden's health, Ream getting playing time and of course, Bolton not getting relegated. This is a great move regardless, but it definitely loses some shine if they get bounced from the EPL this spring and fall back down to the League Championship.
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