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Tottenham signs Seattle's Yedlin to 4-year deal

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TUKWILA, Wash. (AP) Seattle Sounders and U.S. national team defender DeAndre Yedlin signed a four-year deal with Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday but will remain in the United States through the remainder of the MLS season and potentially into 2015.

Both clubs announced the deal after Yedlin spent last weekend in London visiting with Tottenham officials and the sides were able to finalize the deal. Tottenham said Yedlin would join the club ahead of the 2015-16 season, but Seattle general manager Adrian Hanauer said the window for the move is still unknown.

Hanauer said Yedlin could make the move during the January transfer window depending on where Tottenham stands. Or the move could come next summer and Yedlin could remain with the Sounders a little longer.

''We didn't put the full-court press on DeAndre staying,'' Hanauer said. ''We weighed all the different factors, the benefits to our club, what DeAndre wanted, what the market was telling us out there in terms of the size of the transfer fee and ultimately made the decision based on that group of factors. We thought it was ultimately a good decision for our club, although a difficult one.''

Yedlin burst onto the international scene with his performance for the U.S. at the World Cup. He was immediately linked with clubs throughout Europe and Hanauer said there were a number of serious offers.

But Tottenham eventually became his destination. The 21-year-old was the first MLS homegrown player to appear in the World Cup and has been an MLS all-star selection each of his first two years in the league. The first inkling of Tottenham's interest came in July when the Spurs were in Seattle for an exhibition with the Sounders as part of their preseason North American tour.

Yedlin will join Seattle teammate Clint Dempsey and goalkeepers Kasey Keller and Brad Friedel as Americans who have played for Tottenham.

''DeAndre clearly wanted this transaction to occur as well and we want to do right by our players as well as our club,'' Hanauer said.

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