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REPORT: Kamara poised for transfer to Norwich City

Sporting Kansas City is being pegged as a serious championship contender after making several major off-season additions, but it is a potential second high-profile departure that could put a serious dent in this championship plans.

The BBC in England is reporting that Sporting KC midfielder Kei Kamara is on the verge of a move to Norwich City, pending the receipt of a work permit.

If Kamara does move to the English Premier League, he would join former Sporting KC teammate Roger Espinoza, who made the jump overseas earlier in the winter and only recently made a successful English Premier League debut for Wigan.

Kamara’s potential transfer is far from a lock considering the fact he must still appeal for a work permit, something which may prove difficult given the low standing of the Sierre Leone national team, which Kamara plays for.

Sporting KC is very deep at forward, with new signing Claudio Bieler joining C.J. Sapong, Teal Bunbury, Dom Dwyer and Soony Saad, but Kamara is the strongest wide forward/wing midfield option on the squad and his potential departure would put a major dent into the high-pressure style Petere Vermes likes to employ.

Kamara is coming off an outstanding 2012 season for Sporting KC, a year that saw him finish with career highs in goals (11) and assists (8). His play on the right flank in Sporting KC’s 4-3-3 was excellent and finding someone to fill that void won’t be easy for KC, not with the current crop of forwards on the roster.

What do you think of this development? Think Kamara could do well in the English Premier League? See Sporting KC still challenging for a title without him?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Just a loan deal through May 6th. If Kei comes back,he’s back in time for CCL play and we get allocation money for his time gone.

    SKC will be fine. We’ve got Bieler, Bunbury, Sapong, Dwyer, and Saad. Convey can play up top on the left, Zusi can play up top on the right. Peterson can play up top. We’re more about the system anyway.

    Think Kei will do okay. He’s a freakish athlete. Will manly depend on how he handles the transition emotionally, although he has matured greatly the last 3-4 years.

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  2. Sporting is not exactly deep at forward. Bunbury is recovering from ACL surgery and probably won’t see the field until June. Saad and Dwyer are both candidates to be loaned to Orlando City and neither have shown anything close to Kamara-like ability. So what we are talking about is Bieler, Sapong, and Jake Peterson as our forward depth for at least half the season and then we will see how Bunbury actually recovers.

    Kei is a great person, fan favorite, and he will be missed. Hopefully Vermes will be able to fill his spot with Sporting’s share of the transfer $$.

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  3. I think Sierre Leone is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, meaning a work permit should be a mere formality.

    And speaking of former SKC players, Roger Espinoza generally looked excellent yesterday in the Wigan vs Stoke match. He potentially will be a handful for the USMNT next week.

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  4. Personally I hope the move goes through. Kamara’s finishing had to be the most frustrating thing to watch this last season. Plenty of quality in the KC side to make up for his loss. Also if we can get someone in before this transfer window closes or this summer I think it will be a good bit of business.

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  5. Maybe SKC can pry Franck Songo’o from Portland now? Kamara’s salary wasn’t cheap so maybe this opens up some cap space for a player like him.

    Kamara’s biggest strength is his fearlessness. Someone like Songo’o, whose younger brother Yann signed with SKC earlier, could be a valid replacement. I know Franck doesn’t have the size, but I think Timbers fans would agree he has some flair about him.

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    • Songo’o has been on trial with the Dynamo the last week or so. I’m not sure what his contract situation is, but it doesn’t look like he’s with Portland anymore.

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  6. This actually makes me think we could use a “Former MLS’ers abroad” type piece like the Americans abroad one. It would be great to keep track of all these players as they move up in the world.

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      • The funny thing is Espinoza and Kamara ARE US citizens, though they obviously represented other countries (not sure when Kamara took the oath — may have been after he was capped for SL). All the various “YA” forums treat the category differently… USMNT eligibility being one way of slicing the apple.

  7. Not sure this will be a good move for Kamara. The EPL is a more technical league and although his assist and goals registered in the MLS, I don’t think he will be as successful in England. He still lacks consistency in his finishing. I think he still has some development time to improve his game and I’m not convinced the EPL is the best learning ground- it’s a proving ground.

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  8. He will do well at Norwich. They play attractive soccer with limited resources. Kamara isn’t known for his finishing but hopefully he will score more than a handful since Norwich still generate
    lots of chances from their attractive brand of soccer.

    Sierra Leone are ranked #62 by FIFA. Hope he gets a work permit.

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    • Once Sierra Leone is inside of #70 in FIFA, it switches over to the 75% cap rule. So it’s now individual merit. If he has the caps he makes it, if not, it’s appeal.

      He doesn’t have Commonwealth citizenship?

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  9. Yeah, I think SKC will be fine if he goes. It’s a natural progression for veteran players to seek the next level while the younger guys behind them step-up to fill their shoes. I think either Sapong or Bunbury could step into Kamara’s role, although maybe it’ll be one of the younger guys.

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  10. And still Wondolowski stays in MLS despite 61 league goals in the past 3 years. Surely good enough for a low budget team in the EPL

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    • But of course its great that another MLS player is moving to the PL. How many in the past year? Ream…Cameron…Espinoza…Shea…now Kamara. we`re a direct pipeline for the English

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    • After last night’s showing, he’s not helping his cause. Though I feel bad for him as I wanted him to do well. You could tell he was enjoying the moment and wanted to do well badly.

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    • Kamara benefitted from eyes on him which ironically probably started out on Espinoza circa the Olympics.

      Wondo showed last night why he frustrated the Dynamo and won’t be going to big time Europe. He’s a high quality scrapper a la Twellman but when he needs to be high quality he disappears.

      But then so did Bruin.

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    • You saw his caliber last night against lowly Canada. He can’t hack it at the international lever, and he surely can’t hack it in Europe. On the bright side, he’s a good American soccer player and MLS needs big goal scorers. With so many of our players heading overseas during this offseason, it’ll be to the benefit of the league to have him stick around.

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