By KEVIN KOCZWARA
New England Revolution forward Juan Agudelo has officially signed a pre-contract agreement with English Premier League side Stoke City and the young forward is set to join the Potters after his contract with the Revs expires on Dec. 31, reports the club’s official website. But, even though the pre-contract has been signed, the 20-year-old forward could still move to Britannia Stadium before Jan. 1, 2014, if the EPL side can agree on a transfer price with the Revs and Major League Soccer.
Sources have told SBI that Stoke has made an offer for Agudelo to the Revolution and MLS to bring the forward to the Britannia Stadium before his contract expires.
Agudelo will join fellow Americans Geoff Cameron, Maurice Edu and Brek Shea at Stoke City either in January when his contract begins or sooner if an agreement can be reached on a transfer.
“We’ve put a lot of work into this deal, and I am delighted that we have managed to get the deal over the line,” Stoke manager Mark Hughes told the team’s official website on Friday.
“It’s a good deal for us, because he is a very good young player who boasts a lot of talent as well as a lot of potential too,” Hughes continued.
Hughes currently has a forward core of Peter Crouch, Jon Walters, Cameron Jerome and Kenwyne Jones at his disposal, and Agudelo will provide the Potters with a speedier option up front and add a different dimension to the team’s forwards.
Agudelo was traded to New England from Chivas USA in exchange for exchange for allocation money on May 7. The U.S. Men’s National Team pool forward scored three goals in five appearances for the team before picking up an injury in the Revs’ quarterfinal U.S. Open Cup game against D.C. United, which the team lost, 3-1, on June 15.
Agudelo will join fellow USMNT forward Jozy Altidore, who joined Sunderland earlier this summer, in the EPL next season, becoming the latest young forward to try his hand in England’s top division.
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