By IVES GALARCEP
The Los Angeles Galaxy will have some roster tweaking to do this off-season after the departure of David Beckham and trading away of Edson Buddle, but one of the bigger priorities of their off-season has been completed with the signing of a young player with a very bright future.
The Galaxy completed the signing of CSU-Bakersfield forward Gyasi Zardes to a Homegrown Player deal on Thursday, landing the most highly-rated player in college soccer in the process.
Zardes passed on offers from German clubs Freiburg and Nuremberg to sign with the Galaxy.
Boasting blazing speed, strong finishing ability and good size, Zardes was on the radar of several European clubs but ultimately reached a contract agreement with the Galaxy that is expected to make him the highest-paid rookie in MLS in 2013. From a talent standpoint Zardes would have been the clear-cut No. 1 player in the MLS Draft had he been eligible, and not a Galaxy Academy product.
Zardes had recently trained with German Bundesliga side Freiburg, which sources tell SBI made Zardes a contract offer, which helped him in negotiations with MLS and the Galaxy, which had been trying to sign him since last year.
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