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When centerback Bakary Soumare left MLS in 2009, he was one of the league's top defenders, a young player with a bright future and one who fetched the largest transfer fee for an MLS defender prior to Tim Ream's sale to Bolton. After a few years in Europe, Soumare could be on the verge of returning to the league where he began his professional career.
Sources told Fox Soccer that Soumare is eyeing a return to MLS as soon as this summer. Currently on loan from French club Boulogne to 2. Bundesliga side Karlsruhe, the 26-year-old Soumare, a fixture with the Mali national team and former University of Virginia standout, could help a number of MLS clubs who are short-handed at centerback. A total package of great athleticism, size and pace, Soumare was a finalist for MLS Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 for the Chicago Fire, but he was involved in a locker room rift that helped facilitate his move overseas.
As a player who left MLS for a transfer fee, Soumare would be subject to the league's allocation order should he return, according to the league rulebook.
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