Bobby Wood has reportedly caught the eye of some big-name clubs.
According to reports out of Germany, Wood has drawn attention from several English clubs looking to take advantage of his buyout clause. For a fee of €12 million, Wood would reportedly be free to leave Hamburg in the summer, prompting the club to look towards negotiations on a new deal. As things stand, Wood is reportedly one of the least-compensated players at the club, reportedly making just €1.5 million annually.
Everton, West Ham, Southampton, Stoke City, Leicester City and Liverpool are reportedly among the clubs interested in the U.S. Men’s National Team forward. Each club reportedly sent scouts to Germany to scout Wood’s match against Borussia Monchengladbach this past weekend.
Wood is set to miss out on the USMNT’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers after suffering an injury in the match against Monchengladbach.
Liverpool and Leicester are my teams if he goes I will lose it. Wish Jones was younger and in his prime, I could see him being a replacement for Kante.
I think people need to realize that wood is good… sorry for the rhyme. He is playing in a top 2 league (from top to bottom I put Bundesliga above Spain and Italy right now) and scoring. When the pressure is on he scores… (centenario game comes to mind). On a mid-level prem team he would score lots. On Liverpool, he would score even more if he got a chance… but, I mean, he has to figure out his own way… if I were him I would sign another 1 year contract with Hamburg and get through the World Cup playing… then, make a big splash… unless the US loses these next two games… but that is me… and I’m not in his profession… if I were a striker… I would probably take the money and run each time.
i love a good rhyme, keep it going lol!!! To your point though, i agree with you that his talent is vast and he can absolutely play at a place like Liverpool but should he?? With him coming from the German League you have to think their coach, being German, would have put in the work to familiarize himself with him. Like you, i also think he should stay at Hamburg unless they are relegated, but he would have an idea of the possibility before interest really picks up for his services!
i believe he is still under contract at Hamburg (transfermarkt has thru end of year 2020)
the issue is if an EPL team buys out his contract he likely to jump at a new contract as his pay is relatively low.
i agree Hamburg for at least another season would be my pick (as a fan) but if I was in his shoes I would take the EPL money if it was offered!
Entering his prime and needs to cash in imo rather than look for the most sensible option.
Thats whats best for him. Of course whats best for the USMNT is him playing regularly at the highest level possible and getting service close to goal. Could also re up with Hamburg at a greatly increase wage made effective for the reminder of the season, and if Hamburg go down he could have the usual clause to leave the club. This gets him more wages now and still playing in Bundesliga next year if Hamburg stay up and if not he could test the waters. Also, his stock could rise immensely over the next year and half with qualifiers and 2018 WC coming up soon. If a Champions League level club want to pay him and play him why not, take the money son.
never know who is in and out for next year but
at Liverpool he would be low on the depth chart behind: Firmino, Sturridge (next year?), Origi, Ings
– that said I bet Klopp would like his style and he could win a lot of cup starts.
at Everton could be a great fit as Lukaku is leaving. direct competition with Kone, younger players and anyone else they bring in, Ener Valencia if he stays.
at Stoke he would be competition with Crouch, Berahino, Bony (next year?)
at West Ham he could win a major role vs. Ener Valencia (if he returns), Carroll, Sakho
list goes on and on.. just about every EPL team has 4-5 strikers and every team has a striker or two with more experience as him. if he wants to start 30+ league games staying at Hamburg is the way to go. but if he wants a challenge, more $ and the risk of being limited to sub appearances, cup games and maybe taking a year or two to get consistent league games roll the dice with a team like Everton or West Ham.
Good points, but I would favor Stoke, and here’s why. Their manager Mark Hughes worked with Dempsey at Fulham, tried hard to get Agudelo, and has favored Geoff Cameron. I think he would be sure to give Wood a fair shot. Also, for as long as Cameron has been there, which is when I started paying attention to them, they haven’t had any real outstanding striker. They still rely a lot on Walters, for example, and some good midfielders like Shaqiri, Joe Allen, Afellay, Charlie Adam, and Bojan. I think Wood is better than Walters, so his main competition would probably be Arnautovic Diouf, and Bony. And Wood would have the benefit of playing with Cameron. Of course, we don’t know how hard Stoke would try to get him, what his agent thinks, or what Wood would want, but from his development standpoint, I think that would be his best bet.
I completely understand your logic. However, I am partial towards Everton because (1) fan base is generally more supportive of Americans, (2) Lukaku is likely leaving with rumors of Rooney coming back; Rooney is no longer an everyday player and Wood would get a lot of time in an offensive team, (3) the Liverpool/Manchester area is a lot more fun to live than Stoke.
I would say Stoke for sure then Everton. Stoke is a hard working team with solid players but not huge name guys and Cameron is already there like Gary said.. He would be up front with the likes of Arnautovic and I can see a scenario with them together. I personally love watching Arnautovic, I could see Wood nabbing a starting roll There. The one issue I have with Everton is he isn’t going to be as good as Lukaku, so if Lukaku leaves they will still be in search of someone who can have that kind of production. They have Bolasie, Mirallas, Valencia etc… behind that you have Barkley (if he stays) youngster Davies and whoever else they may bring in. Too much firepower at liverpool. As for LCFC the way they play and the state of the club seems like a bad idea. I’d vote Stoke.
I totally see your vision too GP, but i think he’d be starved of service at Stoke, as they resort to long balls too much and are proud of playing that way. Not saying that he wouldn’t fit in with that type of play, but most german teams play on the ground and the US tries to(lol), so it would be an adjustment. I think Everton or Southampton would be better fits, teams they like to attack with creativity
Ronniet your assessment of German football is pretty accurate except Hamburg is so bad they pretty much just try to loft it down to Wood and hope. Most of his goals this year have come that way.
Yup. Well at least their is a one time EPL champion in the group!!!!
English football started before EPL (1992). Liverpool just hasn’t won a title since 1990. They are still the most decorated team in England (in Europe and Domestically).
That being said, while I don’t doubt that there is some interest in Wood. This seems more like agents floating rumors to get more money for his client. Wood is only 1.5million Euros a year which is not that high in the Bundesliga and on the lower end on Hamburg. Even the article stated that another forward, Pierre-Michel Lasogga, earns more than double what Wood earns. The agent is probably trying to get around Eur 3-4 million/year.
Hooray! More EPL teams in search of the next American striker they can pay millions for and then turn on and put on the bench.
Cue your Admiral Akbar line here: IT’S A TRAP!!!
Who else has that happened to besides Jozy? Jozy failed at Sunderland because he sucked. Period.
Jozy’s failure was more than just his own. He was in over his head skill wise. Lost his confidence, and then pressed and did worse. But the coaching was atrocious. The midfield completely inept. And the entire makeup of the team did not fit. It was an all around mess. But Jozy has to own his part for aure. I think he works twice as hard now defensively, and his hold ip play/passing has greatly improved. Giovinco has been a great influence on Jozy, i.m.o
I remember the same sentiment being applied to Wood when he was making the jump from the second division to the Bundesliga.
Of course, we’ve seen how that’s turned out.
My club team is also scouting him and we are interested. He should sign with my team, FC Galacticos. We won’t ruin him or bench him. He will start every game, we won’t make him chip in for the league fee, and he won’t be required to chip in for the referee fee every game. We will also throw in a free jersey. We need him on a free transfer though.
Go to Everton … they need another American! Plus, they may lose Lukaku.
Liverpool and Leicester? Bobby’s agent need to turn it down a little when coming up with these “reports”
Rob go to your room and carry on your sad existence alone. Only an ignorant fool would think Liverpool and Leicester are on the same level.
Yeah, Leicester’s the EPL champion and into the quarterfinals of the Champions League. What are ‘pool?
Actually, the public comments are coming from the Hamburg director, Todt, not Bobby’s agent, whom only just got hired a couple weeks ago.
Would he even play at Lolpool?