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Geoff Cameron's transfer saga has come to a satisfying conclusion for all parties involved.
Cameron was approved for his UK work permit Wednesday after a successful appeal hearing at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium, which puts the finishing touches on his transfer from the Houston Dynamo to Stoke City.
The approval has a two-pronged effect. It means that Cameron will fulfill his dream of playing in the Premier League while leaving a void on the Dynamo roster that will quickly be filled by former Dynamo standout Ricardo Clark.
The Dynamo officially announced the signing of Clark Wednesday, who returns to the club for which he played from 2006-2009 and is eligible for selection when the Dynamo meet the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Friday night.
Cameron needed to go through the appeals process, because he did not meet the requirements for automatic approval. He is the fourth American to win an appeal in the last year, following in the footsteps of Alejandro Bedoya, Tim Ream and Robbie Rogers.
"We wouldn’t have come this far and worked as hard on getting the transfer done if we didn’t think that we had a good chance of getting a work permit," Stoke City chief executive Tony Scholes said on the club's website.
Cameron had joined his new Stoke City teammates during their North American preseason tour, although he was not able to play with them while the transfer was still in the balance. He started 15 games for the Dynamo this season but has not played since the club's 4-0 victory over D.C. United on July 15 at BBVA Compass Stadium, a game that was arguably his best showing of the season and wound up being his farewell to Houston.
"It’s been a difficult period between agreeing the transfer deal and the hearing, most difficult for Geoff in particular because his life has been on hold, Scholes said. "Thankfully though, we have now progressed to a point where Geoff can focus on the start to his career at the Britannia Stadium."
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