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With the summer transfer window fast approaching, several MLS players are expected to be the subject of transfer offers in the coming weeks. Ricardo Clark, Sacha Kljestan, Marvell Wynne and Jonathan Bornstein are just some of the players who are expected to draw interest from Europe, but it is a player not on the U.S. national team who could be the first to make a move away from MLS.
An unidentified French First Division club has approached MLS with a transfer offer for Chicago Fire defender Bakary Soumare, sources with knowledge of the offer told SBI on Tuesday. Soumare, who has become a regular starter for the Mali national team, has drawn interest from European clubs because of his size and skill combination as well as the French passport he holds.
It remains unclear whether MLS and the Fire will accept the bid (the size of which is still unknown), but interest in Soumare has increased considerably in recent months, making a summer departure a very real possibility.
Soumare's stock rose after an MLS Best-XI season in 2008, which saw him team with Wilman Conde to form the best central defense tandem in MLS. He parlayed that success into a call-up to the Malian national team, where he established himself as a starter almost immediately despite the presence of several European-based defenders in the Mali national team pool.
What do you think of Soumare making a move to France? Hoping the Fire holds on to him? Think it's time for him to make the move overseas?
Share your thoughts below.