By DAN KARELL
With the World Cup just eight months away, Brek Shea is looking for a better situation to find some playing time.
Since joining Stoke City last January, Shea hasn’t found a regular place in the starting lineup due to a number of injuries over the course of the last ten months as well as international call-ups. After returning from the Gold Cup to Stoke this August under new manager Mark Hughes, Shea has only played once in a league cup match.
As such, a report in English newspaper the Telegraph says that Stoke is considering loaning out Shea to a club in the Championship, with both Hughes and U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann hoping that Shea can find regular first-team opportunities.
The report states that Klinsmann has communicated to Shea and likely the rest of the squad that if they want to be in the USMNT World Cup squad they need to be playing. Stoke have yet to officially commented on the report.
In all, the 23-year-old winger has played just three times total for Stoke since he was signed for a reported £2.5 million ($4 million), including two late-season Premier League appearances last year. Shea played in all six games for the USMNT during this summer’s Gold Cup, coming off the bench to score two game-winning-goals in wins over Costa Rica in the group stage and Panama in the final.
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What do you think of this news? Do you believe Shea moving to the Championship on loan is a good idea? Do you see other players doing this as well if they don’t have regular playing time? Do you feel Shea should stay and fight his way into a starting spot?
Share your thoughts below.