Tim Ream is a hot commodity these days, and Bolton Wanderers will only let the versatile defender depart on its terms.
Bolton manager Neil Lennon revealed Tuesday that Ream has been the subject of bids from fellow Championship sides Fulham and Queens Park Rangers, but Lennon also added that the two submitted offers did not meet the club’s value for the U.S. Men’s National Team player.
“We have had two bids, one from QPR and one from Fulham,” Lennon said after League One Burton knocked Bolton out of the Capital One Cup. “Obviously (they are) not the valuation we see the player at so it is as you are. If and when a bid comes in that satisfies the club, we have a decision to make.
“You always make contingency plans,” Lennon added. “Every player has his price but at the moment we are in no panic to sell.”
Ream, who has won Bolton’s Player of the Year award each of the last two seasons, has missed the first two games of Bolton’s season while recovering from this summer’s Gold Cup. However, Lennon insists that the defender could appear as soon as Saturday against Middlesbrough despite his uncertain future.
Queens Park Rangers reportedly submitted an initial offer for Ream as recently as a couple of weeks ago.
What do you think of the latest Ream news? Should he remain at Bolton? Out of Fulham and QPR, which club would be the best fit for him?
Share your thoughts below.
Only if MLS has a higher salary cap and a American DP spot.
He would be in red bull right now or NYC, or skc.
Maybe…
Even if you had an American DP, they guy is being offered more than 2 million at the current conversion rate and currently makes slightly more than Omar. If Besler is on 600K, Ream might be on that much or about as a DP. There would be a paycut and living in UK and living in NY (for Red Bulls) have the about the same tax rate (give or take about 1% – at best).
Fulham is a backward step and just remind me how many players have qpr gone through in the last 3 seasons
Fulham is not a backwards step…they are one year removed from the Premier League.. they have spent wisely and have the best player in the Championship in Ross McCormack… they need to solidify their defense in the middle… Ream is the type player they need pairing up with their taller CBs that play… he would a perfect fit
Take the money and go with QPR. They have the $ and ambition to go back up. Sure most players who sign with them are mercenaries but money always talks, and QPR will be back up soon before Fulham get their act together.
I love Tim as an old RBNY fan, but in watching his game with the USA recently, he still makes those occasional mistakes that drive us crazy. That being said, he DOES have a future with the USMNT if Klinsman goes back to the three man backline experiment. He’s perfect as an outside CB, just like Cameron would be.
I think he should be given a run with USMNT now even if JK stays with a 4-4-2. Cameron-Omar-Ream-FJ from right to left might be our best back four right now.
Ream should stay in the USMNT regular picture.
He showed himself to be a pretty good alternative at left back and I suspect he would do well at holding midfield for the US. Along with centerback he has played all three spots for Bolton and versatility is much in demand in the international game.
Now all we need is Herculez to make a miraculous return to form.
Should be playing in the premier league
Tim it is better with more cheddar. Get a raise from Bolton and a contract extension out of all this transfer chatter.
He just got one. So has no leverage.
You can never get too many raises at least from Ream’s POV.
And his leverage would be someone else wants him. You ignore that at your peril. Ask anyone who is divorced.
*ouch
Fairly lateral move here, so I’m not sure that it affects Ream’s development much either way. Bolton is pretty short of cash, so they’re the only club of the 3 who have a chance at being relegated. If Ream can get a nice raise and be assured of playing time, he might as well.
Some twitter rumors that a new bid has been accepted by Bolton for 2.4 M GBP (3.75 million $) from Fulham… sources say he is keen to move and might make 25K a week…
Would be about a 30% increase in salary although cost of living difference between west London and Bolton would more than eat all of that. Still living in the Fulham area sure beats living in Bolton! From a footballing perspective I guess it’s a good move although he certainly has proved himself at Bolton and will have to do so all over again to an extent at his new club.
Fulham area is nice. Nice shops/restaurants there. Additionally, you can walk from Craven Cottage to Stamford bridge (about 2 – 2.5 miles apart) in family friendly, nice part of London. I’d live there.
eye roll at the Seattle whinner… oh ya i forgot you guys invented soccer..
+1 to Anthony’s comments.
okay with the no-move for Ream. a valued spot at Bolton is a good enough place. Fulham move would be great they seem likely to challenge for the promotion, and FulhAmerica and all!, QPR looks like a well funded mess; it would only be a matter of time before they upgraded over him if there is any success.
Stay put! Don’t make the same mistake Dempsey made leaving Fulham for Tottenham.
Yeah! Don’t challenge yourself to be better!! Stay in a safe place!!
by challenging oneself you mean leave for a lateral club, that was just demoted and another in the same league that is no better. care to rephrase doofuss?
How is this a lateral move when both QPR and Fulham have owners who are willing to invest heavily in their clubs, with immediate aspirations of promotion.
I hope either one comes back with another bid. Bolton is probably looking for 4-5 million euros.
I know I am not one to chide someone for name calling, but seriously, “doofus”??? What are you, 8 years old? While I agree Fulham is mess and probably lateral, QPR is not a lateral move. QPR is a step up in the same league that stand a very good chance of being promoted this year.
Doofuss?? Come on man…
What mistake did he make?
– he went to a better team
– he made 29 league appearances after arriving late and with no preseason
– still scored 7 goals (12 in all appearances) while being the 3rd scoring option
– made twice as much money
– left Fulham who was relegated the next season after changing leadership
You forgot the best part.
Ended up playing at the pinnacle, the Sounders.
England >>>MLS
Depends what level in England. Premier League of course and the best championship clubs would likely win MLS but certainly anything league one or lower is not a step up.
He damaged his reputation with Fulham (fairly or not) by forcing a move when they offered him the biggest contract in the history of the club to stay.. Had Dempsey and Dembele remained we likely woud have been talking about Fulham challenging for places in Europe still not trying to remain in the Championship…
Clint would have become a Fulham legend… I am not saying he made the wrong choice but he coudl have been even more revered that Brian McBride was at Fulham
“he coudl have been even more revered that Brian McBride was at Fulham”
So what? Who gives a f++k?
That will pay the rent and put food on the table, especially if he lives in the US.
That was my point. Clint left Fulham with a bad taste in their mouth by forcing move. Had he stayed, he would have scored many more goals for them and would have remained their number one scoring option for several more years. He showed it was more about $$ and less about heart.
JFEP,
“He showed it was more about $$ and less about heart.”
Easy for you to say.
You aren’t talking about your money. It’s always so easy to plan someone else’s life and spend their money isn’t it?
It’s ridiculous when people expect players to take less money for essentially no reason. Same thing with Bradley. Yeah Roma is better than Toronto/MLS but his salary went up 6x.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, I have no issues with players leaving for money (exception would be if I was a non-white and/or Jewish player living in Russia). This is a profession with a LIMITED lifespan, and high risk of career ending injuries.*** If you want to talk about what’s good for USMNT, that’s a different story. What is good for the player/league (no matter which)/national team (no matter which) usually doesn’t align.****
The idea that people argue that the guy should stay in a place where he will not make as much money (especially when you are talking about doubling wages) simply to be a club legend boggles my mind. I guess it’s just different priorities. I also suppose that I just don’t see clubs as being that loyal to players except for one or two exceptions. I also don’t see the point of being a big fish in a little pond, when you can test better waters.
As a side note, I wish people would stop saying Bradley makes 6’x as much as he did at Roma. He makes about 2’xs as much. His listed earnings in Roma were POST-TAX,and he was scheduled to make about EUR1.5million at the time, which was about $2million after taxes. He’s on $6.5 which is about $4million after taxes in Toronto (assuming he’s paid in USD not CAD). Either way, I have NO ISSUES with MB90 leaving for more money and being closer to his family. However, I do not think it was it was in the best interest of the present USMNT. His level is Euroleague Serie A team (starting or pushing to start) or Champions League Serie A (coming off the bench).
+1 Slow, I like you a lot, but I also wanted to point out that you were way off on your 6x with Bradley. He may have been scheduled for EUR 1.2mm instead of EUR 1.5mm, but still it’s far away from 6x. That being said, it is still a big raise, so your points are still valid
Anthony,
The other thing about the Mikey to TFC move that all these critics forget is that:
1. It was a World Cup year.
2. It was pretty clear Mikey was facing a real struggle to get any playing time with Roma who were bringing in new guys at his position. The Roma manager liked Mikey and wanted him to stay but very probably only as an insurance policy.
Mikey signed in January and just needed a half season or so of play to get ready for the World Cup.
When you add up the money and the more or less guaranteed playing time in a WC year vs. less money and possibly developing bench splinters, it becomes a fairly clear choice.
GW,
Again, I agree with you. It made sense for him to come home, on a personal basis. I don’t begrudge him at all.
However, I still think he could have forced a move to a top 8 team and played. Then again, why give away so much money. I wouldn’t. I am more annoyed at MLS spending so much on 1/2 players per team, when they could spread the money better in a team and raise the quality of the overall team. Imagine Bradley at 4.5, Jozy at 3.5 and TFC having an extra 3 million to spend on players. Aside, Gio, Jozy & MB90, you would have 5 million to spend on 20 players. You have a starting line up with no one making less than 500k and bench with 100K players. That would be a VERY,VERY good and deep team.
As a side note, the salary people usually quote are the figures reported in La Gazzetta’s annual Serie A salary listings and they are all listed net aka AFTER tax (local Italian – not including what other taxes expats may owe (if any))
I thought it was 850k Euros and I wasn’t sure it was tax free. You guys are probably right though.
Even if it’s double, I doubt many people would decline to have their salary doubled. Also I think Bradley has a 5-6 year contract at Toronto which I’m sure is longer than whatever he had at Roma so he locked in way more guaranteed cash.
Anthony,
Mikey did look around at other Euro teams .
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/04/michael_bradley_wanted_to_play_for_arsenal_why_didn_t_arsene_wenger_give.html
People forget that Mikey may have taken the TFC offer in part because they seemed willing to build around him . If you are a professional athlete that is quite strong incentive in a sport that is mostly about being rejected.
Yep. LOL. OPM OPB other peoples money & boats. haha
same type of mentality that will never reach to pick up a check. easier to talk about other people
Hate to break it to you, but Dembele was not staying either. CD wanted to play at a higher level and thought he had the skill set and saw that his team would be weaker the next year.
“Had Dempsey and Dembele remained we likely woud have been talking about Fulham challenging for places in Europe still”
LOL – are you serious?
Yes, completely… they were the lifeblood of that team… people forget Fulham got to the Europa final and were a last second goal away from winning their group instead of being knocked out all together… Clint and Moussa were a dynamic force around Fulhams other parts…
Fulham WOULD NOT have challenged for a “spot in Europe”. They had lost and continued to loose players to injury and free transfer or sale, never to re-sig high quality talent. The club management had made it clear that MOST of the players were only going to be retained at a sub-market value price. The NEVER to my knowledge offered Dempsey a “record salary contract offer”…..never. Fulham under Fayed was always going to be a mid-tier team with limited spending–much due to their stadium limitations. Dempsey was frustrated with these limitations and moved on for a true chance at Europe and more money. I LOVE Fulham, but I don’t blame his frustration and many English Fulham fans don’t either.
I’m glad that the US is so stacked at the back that they don’t need someone that’s so obviously valued. 🙂
+1
Couldn’t tell is that was sarcasm or not….if it was good for you and if not, it can be argued that had JK played TR more in the more important matches we may not have been playing in the third place game
I think it’s implied he’s injured or got injured during the tournament: “Ream, who has won Bolton’s Player of the Year award each of the last two seasons, has missed the first two games of Bolton’s season while recovering from this summer’s Gold Cup.”
So with TR in the lineup…are you implying that we wouldn’t have made it that far, or we would have advanced to the finals?
I am saying that we could have possibly made it to the finals!!! Brooks and Alvarado made way too many mistakes in the GC but JK insisted those get their minutes in tough games to learn from which unfortunately cost us a chance at the title. Ream played very well in all of his appearances along with OG, however JK seems to throw logic out of the window when he sees something in a player, even to the detriment of the team!
Huh???? Ream was continuosly torched in the third place game. He never could or will play defense.
lol you clearly didn’t watch the 3rd place game if that was your assessment, which frankly is unfortunately. I haven’t seen another poster draw that conclusion which also speaks to your inept attempt to diminish his performance but good try though ha
Ream did not look that great. He looked better than Alvarado and Brooks, but that is not saying much based on the World Cup.
so obviously valued
….um. You saw the “value” of the transfer offers, right? Let’s not be ridiculous.