Photo by Erik Hartline/USA Today Sports
By RYAN TOLMICH
Doneil Henry’s stint with Apollon Limassol will apparently be a short one.
Henry, signed by the Cypriot club earlier this year before being loaned back to Toronto FC for the 2014 MLS season, has reportedly acquired a work permit ahead of a move to West Ham United.
The 21-year-old defender has been coveted by West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who revealed that his pursuit of the Canadian international comes following a recommendation from former TFC manager Ryan Nelsen.
Nelsen previously played for Allardyce at Blackburn Rovers.
“We are looking at the situation but it will be a tribunal, work permit situation which will happen next week,” Allardyce said. “He was recommended to me by Ryan Nelsen, my captain at Blackburn who was at Toronto and his is an opinion I respect.”
Henry made 93 appearances for TFC since joining the first team in 2010 while also featuring 10 times for the Canadian national team.
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What do you think of Henry’s potential move to West Ham? How will he fare in the Premier League?
Share your thoughts below.
Oh great, cause BPL benches aren’t warm enough…
Why would Thierry Henry need a work permit……Just saying
Listen, I know that Titi retired a couple weeks ago, but when I first read the headline, I thought for a second that he had decided to play again… May want to put his first name in the headline, just a thought
+1, “TFC’s Henry” would work as well
Same here…I was really confused at why he would go to West Ham of all places
Because they are paying him a King’s ransom…
Shoot, now I’m confused LOL
Yes that would be more accurate…… but would you have been interested enough to click that headline…..
This is just shocking to me. He was not even a guaranteed starter for TFC in MLS. Between him going to EPL and AJ Soares going to Serie A – even if they are not playing there regularly – that’s very impressive and a good sign for quality of our league because neither of them really stood out too much. I suppose Gencarlo Gonzalez who went to Palermo for $5mm and started 10 games this season can be added to this. I recognize that single examples shouldn’t lead to big conclusions, but I at least want to throw some balance to those who are stating that Wright-Phillips scoring 27 goals in MLS suggests that it absolutely sucks.
+1
Yev,
What are you doing ? Please whine more. Please do not look at US soccer as anything but inferior.
ps. MLS is a very good league and US soccer is on the verge of getting over the hump. Don’t tell anyone, FIFA still tells em the English Nat team is way better.
Quit’s lost the plot not only does he not know that that the English National MNT is way better than the US MNT, he doesn’t know who the best team in MLS is two weeks after the MLS Cup final.
On paper, England is waaaaay better than the US. But in the real world, England can’t even beat a single CONCACAF team.
The USMNT could beat England straight up.
But consider this, if it were possible:
How many English players would start for the USMNT?
And how many US players would start for England?
Seriously name one US player who would start for England!
okay. jermaine jones, and tim howard (depending on his and hart’s form at the time)
Aaahh Nate’s going with the sentimental choices. Honestly Howard on his day is probably close to being as good as Hart but he’s on the downswing of his career. Hart has not peaked, Howard has, so for that reason, Hart it is.
As for Jones I love the guy too, plays way above his abilities, 100% effort all of the time and he bleeds red. white n blue. But let’s be serious he isn’t now or ever was close to the ability of Gerrard or Scholes and even amongst England’s current crop not as good as Jack Wilshere or Michael Carrick, there is no way anyone would pick the old guy over them.
Honestly there isn’t any position where the US have a better palyer the the UK, however the US play better than the sum of their parts, I’ll agree to that.
Not a one,
It’s unlikely that any US outfield player would make the final 23 if there was an England World Cup type squad formed today.
However, if the USMNT played England any time soon in a competition that meant anything I’d call it a toss up.
The US is closer to being an actual “team” than England is.or perhaps, ever will be People on SBI don’t seem to realize that the international game in not a fantasy league and that it is not a matter of forming the most credentialed all star team.
I generally agree with your point about MLS. My two reservations;
A. Get on the FIFA calendar for friendlies and international matches. The March to December is perfect for climate and competition from other sports. However, make players fully available for the international break.
B. Slow down the expansion and invest in infrastructure; academies, coaching, youth scouting/recruitment, stadium, fan support!
Other than that, love watching MLS grow each year.
Because MLS is a ponzi scheme. They have to keep expanding and collect the 100million fee until they can actually sustain the league with profits.
That’s not a Ponzi scheme. In a Ponzi scheme, unaware investors receive returns that they believe have been generated through the operations of the business, when they are in fact receiving the stake funds of new investors.
The current owners are under no such illusions. They are actually the ones running the scheme, which is perfectly legitimate and actually quite similar to any fundraise for a developing business.
Once a business achieves milestones in its growth cycle, it is normal to solicit new capital to support the next phase. These guys pay a higher price for their stake, because the risk is now lower and the timeline to positive cash flow is more immediate and provable. The guys buying these teams are experienced investors who accept this, and there are plenty of them
No question that he’s had his struggles with consistency, but this doesn’t shock me as he does possess an extremely high ceiling. I can see why a manager would fall in love with his tools and think he can make a project out of him.
MLS develops the talent, sells the services (allegedly) in the cloak of darkness without an official announcement to the press or fans, receives Henry back on-loan still within the cloak of darkness, once the story is finally released it contains the usual and tired undisclosed fee attachment by MLS, and Apollon Limassol reaps the reward of a transfer fee from West Ham while never playing a minute for the Cyprus club.
Lovely.
So much for transparency. This entire situation is a joke.
+1
Where is that Garcia guy when you need him.
So do you just want to know how much the transfer in/out of MLS was? The move to a Cypriot club is essentially a way for someone to get a work permit for the UK.
To tell the truth it probably wasn’t much, I mean right off the top of my head the most in/out transfer from MLS was $10mm for Bradley/Altidore.
Old School may want to do a little research on UK work permits.