USMNT transfer rumors: TFC turns down Bradley bid; Maccabi ups Birnbaum offer
A trio of U.S. men's national team players are immersed in the summer transfer buzz.
The biggest item involves Michael Bradley, as Toronto FC reportedly turned down an offer of $5 million for the U.S. men's national team captain, Goal.com reported on Tuesday.
The report did not specify which team it was but assured it was from a top-four league in Europe, with Italian sides Torino and Sampdoria recently linked to Bradley, who formerly played in Serie A for Roma before returning to MLS.
Toronto FC GM Tim Bezbatchenko told the Toronto Sun recently that the club gets regular interest in its star players but has no eye on selling them.
"It’s a matter of understanding that these players aren’t for sale," Bezbatchenko said. "Again, if there was an offer we couldn’t refuse, then it’s something we would entertain but for the most part it’s a polite decline–thank you but no thank you.”
Bradley has been out injured since suffering a knee injury at Copa America Centenario. He has seven goals and 11 assists in 62 games (all starts) since coming back to MLS ahead of the 2014 season.
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Elsewhere in transfer talk involving U.S. players:
Bedoya in negotiations with MLS–again
Alejandro Bedoya has tried twice in the last year to come to MLS, with the Philadelphia Union and Colorado Rapids both engaging in conversations to bring the U.S. midfielder home, and it appears there's a third try in the offing.
According to ESPN FC, Bedoya is in advanced negotiations with the Union, who hold the second spot in MLS's allocation order–reserved for delegating how a select, previously defined group of players are distributed throughout the league, should they sign. Bedoya would reportedly fetch a salary in the $750,000-$850,000 range and it would cost a $1 million transfer fee to lure him from Ligue 1's FC Nantes.
Bedoya told the Planet Fútbol Podcast in March that he would "eventually" like to play in the league, with the possibility of having his 1-year-old son grow up closer to family a large aspect of his decision.
Should Bedoya remain at Nantes, it would be his fourth season with the French club.
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Maccabi ups its Birnbaum bid
Israel's Maccabi Tel Aviv has been vying for U.S. center back Steve Birnbaum's services, with D.C. United reluctant to part with the MLS All-Star. The latest, according to The Washington Post, is a $1.5 million offer for Birnbaum, which is more than double the initial bid.
The Post reports that D.C. is unlikely to accept the bid, because if it waits until Birnbaum completes his third season in the league, it would be in line to receive more of the windfall based on MLS's rule structure.
Birnbaum, 26, is under contract through next season.
