It looks like U.S. midfielder Robbie Rogers is headed to England to play for Leeds, a second-tier club that used to be in the English Premier League but was relegated.
The only hang up is that Rogers needs to get a British work permit (visa).
Rogers is not automatically eligible for a work permit in Britain because he has not played at least 75 percent of competitive matches for the U.S. in the last two years.
On the Leeds website, manager Simon Grayson said that "as soon as the work permit business is complete he will be an immediate part of our plans and have an opportunity with the first team.''
Grayson added that "we believe he will make an impact here.''
Rogers is 24-years-old and he was a free agent after completing the 2011 season with the Columbus Crew in MLS. He came onto the U.S. national team radar under new head coach Jurgen Klinsmann and he appears to have some promise.
My dream is that one day all U.S. men's national team players will play for European club teams rather than MLS. As long as they still rely on guys that compete in MLS full-time, they will never be able to take the next step and become one of the world's consistently top national teams.
Fingers crossed that the work permit comes through for Rogers, and since he's a pro athlete and not some random dude I think it will in short order, and he can play for Leeds right away.
UPDATE 1/19: Rogers' work visa was approved today.
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