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MLS, Stoke City agree on fee for Cameron

Cameron getty

Geoff Cameron is one step closer to the English Premier League.

According to multiple reports out of England, Stoke City and Major League Soccer have agreed on a $2.5 million transfer fee that would send the Houston defender abroad. Stoke are still negotiating personal terms with the U.S. national team centerback and need FIFA to grant an international clearance. Cameron currently falls short of the regulation that requires a player to appear in at least 75% of competitive internationals over the past two years, having appeared five times during that span. However, former USA manager Bob Bradley is reportedly willing to testify that Cameron would have been selected more often were it not for injuries.

Stoke City chairman Peter Coates said that he could see no reason why Cameron would not be granted an international clearance but is taking nothing for granted. The $2.5 million deal was an even compromise between MLS's opening demand of $3 million and Stoke City's opening bid of $2 million.

Cameron, 27, is currently negotiating a contract with Stoke, which finished14th in the EPL last season while surrendering 53 goals. The club is preparing to arrive in the United States on Sunday to begin a summer tour of North America.

Comments

  1. Pretty sure he’s talking about the French and Swedish leagues, not players from those nations going to the UK.

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  2. I’m wondering myself, but I expect Stoke had better release him or their work permit argument will look a little shady.

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  3. Agree about Everton. Plus, the Blue jerseys w/ yellow collars are so much more aesthetically pleasing than Stoke’s.

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  4. Main reason I got season tix, should have been overseas 2 years ago, glad he got his form back after the knee injury. I’ve been comparing him to Lucio for a few years now I hope he has the same success abroad. I wish I could post the pic he took with me at Dave and Busters (I must have been the only one that recognized him lol)… Get’em Bow Tie Killer!

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  5. Actually, if Cameron were no threat to British center halves who might otherwise be signed by Stoke then he would not get a permit.

    The basic idea is to try and keep football jobs open for British players. All these permiting hoops are designed to insure that any American player who gets approved is of a certain standard.

    The US does a similar thing with green cards in that you have to show some sort of exceptional level of performance in your profession ( for example, winning a Nobel Prize in physics would do).

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  6. it’s really not such a big deal to stick a transfer fee clause in a contract. a lot of European players do this. and, come to think of it, MLS players would be wise to do the same thing with their contracts to avoid being at the mercy of MLS when a European club comes knocking on the door.

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  7. come on, man. admit it: u r joking. 12,500 pounds a week = 650,000 pounds a year = equals $1,000,000 a year. I would have thought he was making less than half that in Scotand. but, yeah, not as good as he will be doing in Spain if Valencia takes him onboard, which I would love to see but which, quite frankly, surprises the heck out of me.

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  8. 12.5 K a week. I always thought it would be higher. But I guess it’s still way more than any other club in SCOTLAND

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  9. He’s not good enough to start. But as depth sure? A lower league club like Racing Santander or Hercules sure

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  10. AGREED. Cameron is a decent player. Let’s just hope he does well at Stoke and stays there. They usually finish mid-table which is not bad

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  11. seems every American goes through this appeal. It’s kinda funny actually. Why do the English even have this? The swedes don’t. The French don’t.

    besides he’s an American player. No threat to them

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  12. Before we have him leveraging this for the next big deal we might want to have him play for Stoke first.

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  13. Indeed. The ITC is FIFA transfer clearance and I don’t see why Houston or MLS or FIFA would oppose because presumably we’re in the window still. Should be a formality.

    The separate issue once the transfer is final and the ITC clearance given is the UK work permit and that is very much not a formality.

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  14. UK work permit standard is 75% of A matches, which you can argue and/or appeal and argue you’re equivalent to. Non UK/EU need work permit (EU gets treated like UK because of right to work treaty laws). Brad Friedel was once denied but Eddie Johnson was approved.

    You can squabble about what was an “A” game in terms of the initial standard, or whether other factors should be considered on appeal.

    There is also a lesser known part of the rule where your country has to average in the top 70 in FIFA but we’ve never had to worry about that.

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  15. “FIFA to grant an international clearance” – wrong

    “$60M for Modric” – wrong

    come on SBI writers, a little sloppy! still love you though…lol

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  16. Don’t get that paragraph… FIFA has nothing to do with his transfer. Home Office (british immigration office) has to approve his work permit and they set up the special national team threshold for footballers.

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  17. Speaking of European contracts, a Scottish newspaper has a story revealing Maurice Edu’s estimated salary at Rangers. I was surprised, did not think he would have been earning that much.

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  18. Great news. Hope he can agree to a good contract. Cameron continues to improve rapidly and I would not be surprised to see him do well in the next 12-18 months and attract the attention of a big club. Like a lot of players in Europe, he should demand a clause that allows him to transfer in the future at a certain fee level without Stoke being able to block the move. With the modest transfer fee that Stoke is paying MLS, a set fee in the range of $5-8 would be more than fair to Stoke.

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  19. I wouldn’t take the WP for granted. The relatively small transfer fee, his age and the lack of 75% caps could sink this move.

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  20. I think the writer is confused about ITC (international transfer certificate) from FIFA and a work permit for the UK which the FA not FIFA have to approve and requires the 75% thing

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  21. He’s well on his way to being one of the key elements for the USMNT in 2014. We’ll definitely need him to be on top of his game at that time.

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  22. As Henry said, to work in the UK or any country you have to have a work permit.

    UK work permit rules for non-EU and non-Commonwealth footballers state that you must play in 75% of competitive internationals in order to receive a permit. But there is an appeals process that Cameron will probably be accepted through.

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  23. Seeing as so many US players have changed club recently; What is our team going to look like next month in Mexico. Is JK going to call on the players that just arrived into new clubs or is he going to let them settle in first. I hope we are able to put a competitive team for the Azteca game.

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  24. I’m willing to bet between travel costs and man hours that Stoke spent about the same amount that they saved on the deal. Maybe they were really enjoying their stay and thought this was a great way to draw it out. Of course I think it’s great that Cameron is going to play in the EPL. I only wish it was for Everton.

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  25. Good news for Cameron, the MLS, and the Nats. Glad to see the fee half way to 3 and not half way to 2.

    Now we just have to await the finale to the Dempsey transfer saga..

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  26. Bradley would testify that Cameron would have been selected during Bradley’s tenure 1-2 years ago more often had it not been for injuries. Since FIFA looks back at the last two years worth of caps, that would help Cameron’s case as to why he had no caps back then when Bradley was manager.

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