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John move to Blackburn called off

GeorgeJohn (Getty)

FC Dallas defender George John was all set for a transfer move to English club Blackburn, and had done everything but sign a contract with the club only to have Blackburn back out and pass on the standout MLS centerback over the weekend.

According to multiple sources, MLS and Blackburn had agreed to terms on the transfer, which was to be for about $1.75 million with bonuses that could take it to $2.25 million, but Blackburn chose to back away from the deal before finalzing personal terms with John, who had traveled to England on Thursday to finalize the deal.

Blackburn is winless on the young Premier League season and suffered a bitter 1-0 loss to Everton over the weekend. It is believed Blackburn had lined up the George John transfer in preparation for the potential loss of defender Chris Samba to a transfer, and the lack of a Samba move could have ultimately doomed John's transfer. Blackburn had also been eyeing other defenders in the transfer market.

FC Dallas could have John back in time for Tuesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal vs. Seattle and his return comes just as Dallas is set to lose Ugo Ihemelu to a yellow card suspension and Zach Loyd to U.S. national team duty.

What do you think of this development? Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. He’s already 24 years old, he’s got a Greek passport and he’s only got one year left on his current MLS deal. Unless they make him a DP he’d be insane to re-sign with FCD. It will be much easier to sign on in Europe on a free transfer once he’s out of contract.

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  2. Resign and re-sign are antonyms. If you use resign for both no one will know what you are talking about.

    Resign means to quit. Re-sign is to sign again.

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  3. It was reported that John didn’t bother talking to any of his FCD teammates about leaving, including and especially his coaching staff. He just stopped showing up. Now he’s gotta show his face in the locker room again. Can you say “awkward?!” Ha! Looks like fate has done a little trolling of it’s own.

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  4. Sounds about right. above average players in the Second Bundesliga make over 300k euros. I imagine Edson Buddle signed for at least that, if not much more, at Ingolstadt.

    I am not going to be surprised to see John get another offer before the transfer window closes Wednesday.

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  5. Why should he re-sign with Dallas? They surely are not going to give him a DP salary ($ 350K+) when he can get that or more at any Championship level or higher team. Even in Greece he would make more than $ 350k.

    John has the upper hand here so don’t re-sign. How long would it take him to make that sort of money in MLS, 5 yrs at his current pay?

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  6. dam…..i hope they at least gave him a tour of the town and paid for his hotel. that musta been awkward, wonder if blackburn used the ol’ its not you its me line.

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