Brek Shea Hits The Lottery: Signs 4.5 Year Deal With Stoke City Worth $3.96 Million Dollars

I have never really understood the allure of U.S. midfielder Brek Shea; he's a decent enough player that has never scored a goal in 15 appearances for the United States. Today is not the time for hating though since before the January transfer window closed, he went from FC Dallas (MLS) to Stoke City where he signed a 4.5 year deal worth $3.96 million dollars with the English Premier League club.

From ESPNsoccernet.com
Stoke boss Tony Pulis told the club's official website: "It's fantastic news that we have been able to push through a deal.
"Brek is a very, very exciting player, and one who we firmly believe could go on to become an outstanding player for this football club.
Shea is the Potters' first signing of the January transfer window.
"He has terrific pace, a very good left foot and is capable of scoring goals," Pulis said. "He has all the tools needed to be a success here."

Shea turns 23 on February 28 so he's still very young with plenty of potential. He had played for Dallas since 2008 but he is recovering from surgery on his right foot in November. He will find a few familiar faces in the dressing room, on the practice field not to mention on the road and at games: fellow American Geoff Cameron, the defender has started 21 games for Stoke (6-12-6) who finds itself in 10th in the EPL. American midfielder Maurice Edu is also on the team but he's only played in one game (as a substitute) this season so I'm not sure what the deal is with him.

It will probably take Shea time to rehab his foot some more, not to mention adjust to the pace and quality of play in England but this is the biggest thing to happen for his young career. As always, we love to see American players test themselves in the best leagues possible (ie. not MLS). Good luck Brek!

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Maurice Edu Takes His Talents From Scotland (Rangers) To England (Stoke City)

Well it is safe to say that Stoke City has solidified its place in the hearts of U.S. men's national team's fans in just a few short weeks.

Coming on the heels of the news that defender Geoff Cameron had signed there, today we found out that midfielder Maurice Edu was leaving Rangers-bankrupt and banished to Scotland's third division-for greener pastures in the English Premier League. There had been rumors of Edu looking at Ipswich (which plays in The Championship) but I felt all along that he could play at a higher level than that.

From The Sporting News
"After Rangers filed for bankruptcy, Edu announced he would leave the club. He turned down offers from Bursaspor, Evian, Trabzonspor and Valenciennes before accepting the move to Stoke City."

The former University of Maryland star and native of California will never wow you with his flashy moves or impressive statistics. His best attributes as a center midfielder (or center back where he had to play last week against Mexico) include work rate, high fitness level and being a capable two-way player. He is very consistent and you know what to expect from him which is always a good thing.

He also follows the path of Alejandro Bedoya, who left Rangers for Helsingborgs IF (Sweden). Edu had been practicing with Rangers but he didn't suit up in their league games this season. On the other hand, U.S. defender Carlos Bocanegra so far has chosen to honor his contract and stay in Scotland. There is only six days left until the transfer window closes (August 31) so I wish I could get to Scotland and convince him that is not the best route for his career. I'm pretty sure that if he wanted to, he could still compete in the EPL or at least a higher level than Scotland in Europe.

MLSSoccer.com reported that Edu (who is 26) became Stoke City's fallback option once Tottenham's Tom Huddlestone wasn't signed. I could care less the reasoning and semantics behind the move, I'm just happy to say that another American is playing in what I consider the top soccer league in the world: the English Premier League. That will never get old in my book.

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Another U.S. Men's National Team Player Heads To London: Geoff Cameron Signs With Stoke City

Another U.S. men's national team player is headed overseas as defender Geoff Cameron has agreed to a deal with Stoke City of Barclays Premier League.

Most recently, the University of Rhode Island graduate was on the Houston Dynamo in Major League Soccer. After Jurgen Klinsmann came aboard for the U.S. men, Cameron started to get CAPs.

At 27, Cameron has versatility since he can play defense and in the midfield. He's made five appearances for the U.S. and he appears to be in the mix for World Cup 2014 qualifying (which starts up again in September).

Stoke City is currently on a preseason tour of the United States. They met the Columbus Crew on Tuesday (a 2-1 loss) then they play Orlando City (a USL team) on Saturday and Sporting Kansas City next Wednesday. That means it will be easy for Cameron to meet up with his new team and get acclimated before they cross the Atlantic Ocean.

Believe it or not, the EPL season begins three weeks from tomorrow. Stoke City opens on Saturday, August 18 at Reading then the following Sunday their home opener is against Arsenal. That should be a great introduction to England for Cameron, let's hope he gets some minutes in that match.

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