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Bradley heading to Aston Villa on loan

Michael Bradley (ISIPhotos.com)

After weeks of speculation about where Michael Bradley could wind up, the U.S. national team midfielder is heading to England to play for a team with plenty of American ties.

Bradley is heading to English Premier League side Aston Villa, sources confirmed to SBI on Saturday.

Bradley leaves Borussia Moenchendgladbach after two and a half seasons and the loan to Aston Villa, first reported by German media on Saturday morning, is sure to be followed by a permanent move away from the German club in the summer. He will have one year remaining on his contract with Moenchengladbach when the season ends.

Bradley had been targeted by English club Sunderland, but Darren Bent's surprise transfer move to Aston Villa put that move on hold. While several other European clubs, including Galatasaray and Palermo, were interested in buying Bradley outright, the loan move to Aston Villa should allow Bradley to boost his stock ahead of this summer's transfer season. It was a scenario I laid out in my recent Fox Soccer piece on Bradley's club status.

Joining Stuart Holden and Jermaine Jones as fellow American midfielders who have made the move to England in the past year, Bradley will join an Aston Villa side with Americans Brad Friedel, Brad Guzan (currently on a short loan with Hull City) and Eric Lichaj, as well as American owner Randy Lerner.

What do you think of this development? Love the idea of Bradley playing in the Premier League? Relieved he didn't go to Galatasaray?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. It’s a great opportunity for Michael, and I think he might be able to make a real contribution with some tough tenacity. Villa isn’t but a couple wins off the relegation zone, and they need to slug out the results to keep them clear. Bradley seems like he has the right mentality.

    And if he starts, and helps deliver results, he’ll do so in front of a massive TV audience. Of course that’s a double edged sword.

    A couple things trouble me, though:

    (1) Why is he surplus at Borussia? Was it really a personality conflict, or something else?

    (2) Why couldn’t Ireland find his groove at Villa? Steven was truly excellent at City before the empire change.

    Anyway, no doubt myself and millions of US soccer fans will be pulling for Bradley to shine.

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  2. “Petrov has been the steady heartbeat of that Villa team over the past several years.”

    The key phrase there is “past several years”. The impression is Houlier is looking to chart his own path not O’Neill’s

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  3. Good move for Bradley. The best way for him to take it to the next level. Even if due to the competition it takes until the fall to get the auto start.

    Good for USMNT in 2014 as well.

    Question though.. If he gets spot mins through May. Does beverage every gold cup match if Holden and Jones are playing well..

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  4. I love it. Villa is a strong team and Bradley will have to work hard to get and retain a starting role. When he does play, he will face some very good teams. The expectations are that he will have to compete hard both on the weekends and during the week in training. I think he is up to the challenge and the pressure will force him to improve over the next 4 or 5 months.

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  5. Fine it’s a done deal. I was just stating what I have read from other sites. Not calling you out Ives.

    (SBI- Fair enough Rob, but when you write what you wrote in the comments section of my very report stating the deal is done it’s kind of tough to not take it as you questioning my report. It’s all good.)

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  6. “may actually develop into a player that deserves to start every game at center midfield for the US four years after being handed the roll.”

    Four years ago, Benny F was being paid by but not playing for Derby County, Edu was playing for Toronto FC, Stu Holden was playing left wing for Houston, where Rico Clark was playing D mid, Freddy Adu was being paid by but not playing much for Benfica, as was JF Torres at Pachuca and Jermaine Jones was still German.

    Care to tell me who MB, who had just scored 16 goals for Heerenveen, which I believe is still a single season record for an American in a top ten European league, so unfairly displaced for the job?

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  7. So glad he is going to Aston Villa and not Sunderland, and especially not Galatasary. This will be a great move for him if he ca jump right into the starting 11. Aston Villa is a team that should be in the top 7 with the players they have. The team is a team that should be competative in the Europa League, so if they can get on a winning streak and make it in, they should do good, and that will help Bradley and Guzan if still there and with Friedel gone, they will grow as players.

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  8. First of all this is a loan so it’s pretty hard to compare it to Bent’s situation.

    There is a lot more that goes into fees than whether or not Player A is better than Player B. so using that to rate MB’s progress is a little iffy.

    Jozy was signed for 7.4 million Euros the most ever for an American from MLS. Is he a better player than MB or Clint Dempsey?

    Reply

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