By CAITLIN MURRAY
Obafemi Martins is staying put in Seattle.
The Nigerian forward who has enjoyed a breakout year with the Seattle Sounders signed a multiyear contract extension to stay with the MLS Supporter’s Shield-winning team, the Sounders announced Tuesday.
As usual, terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Martins was clear about his plans, telling the Seattle Times: “I hope to play here for at least three years, as the contract says.”
Reports indicate the contract, worth more than $3 million per year, is for two years with a third-year option.
For Martins, who turned 30 also Tuesday, 2014 has been one of his most successful years to date. He joined the Sounders in 2013, but has been on fire during this season, recording a club-record 17 goals and 13 assists.
Here are some other Major League Soccer notes from Tuesday evening:
TORRES COULD HEAD TO CHIVAS IN MEXICO
Once it was clear Chivas USA would not see another year in MLS, there was one player everyone seemed to wonder about: Erick “Cubo” Torres.
The young Mexican international’s rise was perhaps the bright spot in a dismal year for The Goats, with his flashy goals and first call-ups to El Tri. But, if the Chivas organization has any say, he may not be sticking around in MLS.
Speaking to Goal Mexico, Chivas owner Jorge Vergara said Tuesday that the hope is for Torres to stick with the Chivas franchise, moving to the first team in Guadalajara, Mexico.
“I have not talked to them yet,” Vergara said of MLS, “but we are working on that for next season.”
Vergara’s comments come one day after MLS Commissioner Don Garber told reporters that the league was “in discussions with Erick and his representatives about signing him to a long-term contract that will keep him in MLS.”
Garber had hinted Torres may not be included in a dispersal draft to transfer remaining under-contract Chivas USA players to other MLS teams.
HENRY BACK TO FULL TRAINING, “LOOKS GOOD”
Just two days after missing a road game in Kansas City, Thierry Henry is looking fit enough to rejoin the New York Red Bulls.
Henry had inflammation in both Achilles tendons, but participated in training Tuesday without obvious signs of difficulty. Coach Mike Petke was optimistic, telling reporters: “We’ll know more how he responds after practice, but he looks good.”
There’s little doubt that the Red Bulls will need Henry, 37, as they begin their postseason against Sporting Kansas City on Thursday. But it’s unclear whether the Frenchman is fit enough to go the full 90 minutes after first struggling with the foot injuries a week and a half ago.
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What do you think of Martins staying with the Sounders? Where should Torres end up? Can the Red Bulls advance in the playoffs without significant minutes from Henry?
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