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Reports: D.C. United officials to meet with Mesut Ozil reps

The news of Wayne Rooney’s looming departure from D.C. United has cast a dark cloud over the Eastern Conference team, but a fresh rumor linking the club with another international star has offered some hope for the struggling club.

According to multiple reports, D.C. United officials are set to meet with representatives for Arsenal playmaker and World Cup-winning German midfielder Mesut Ozil.

A move for the 30-year-old midfielder seems far-fetched given his high salary, but with Rooney set to join Derby County in January, and D.C. United playmaker Luciano Acosta expected to leave the club after the season when his contract expires, D.C. could be faced with the prospects of losing its two best attacking players, requiring the team to make a big move to help offset those losses.

D.C. United is in the process of finalizing a move for former LA Galaxy striker Ola Kamara, but that addition would do little to help fill the looming void in the superstar department, and with a new stadium to fill, D.C. United will be working the transfer market to find a suitable big name to replace Rooney.

Volatile Italian striker Mario Balotelli is another name that has been floated around as a potential option for D.C. United, but Ozil would be a considerable coup for D.C. given the likelihood that both Rooney and Acosta will be gone after the current season.

What do you think about the Ozil-to-D.C. United link? See it being a good fit? Think it’s a pipe dream?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. The money DC United will spend for Ozil they can get 2 -3 (maybe even 4) of these players that RECENTLY PLAYED FOR THEIR RESPECTIVE NATIONAL TEAMS

    FROM SPAINISH NATIONAL TEAM
    DF……Jesús Navas………………..age 33……..Spain Sevilla
    DF……Raúl Albiol………………….age 33……..Spain Villarreal
    DF……Sergio Ramos (Captain).age 33)……Spain Real Madrid
    MF……Santi Cazorla……………….age 34)…….Spain Villarreal
    FW…..Iago Aspas………………….age 32………Spain Celta Vigo

    FROM ITALIAN NATIONAL TEAM
    GK…..Salvatore Sirigu………………..age 32……Italy Torino
    GK…..Antonio Mirante………………age 36……Italy Roma
    DF……Giorgio Chiellini (captain)…age 34……Italy Juventus
    DF……Leonardo Bonucci…………….age 32)…..Italy Juventus
    FW…..Fabio Quagliarella…………….age 36….. Italy Sampdoria
    FW…..Sebastian Giovinco……………age 32….. Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal

    FROM GERMAN NATIONAL TEAM
    GK….Manuel Neuer (captain)……age 33)…..Germany Bayern Munich

    FROM BRAZIL NATIONAL TEAM
    DF….Dani Alves (Captain)………….age 36…….Brazil São Paulo
    DF….Thiago Silva……………………….age 34…….PSG
    DF…..Miranda…………………………….age 34…..China Jiangsu Suning
    DF…..Filipe Luís…………………………..age 33…..Brazil Flamengo
    MF….Fernandinho…………………….…age 34…England Manchester City

    Ozil alone will not make a difference at DC United….he needs QUALITY around him. Therefore a record breaking signing makes no sense without Rooney and Acosta still on the team (only maybe from a marketing stand point)

    Reply
    • 1st – No-One in their right mind would use a DP slot for a Keeper.
      2nd – I can only recall one DP defender, and he’ll probably go down as one of the biggest busts in Red Bull’s history, if not MLS’s.
      That’s 70% of your list that’s just not going to happen. I’d also throw out Quagliarella at 36, as not a likely option due to age, as most 35+ DP’s have not worked out well for the money spent. Leaving your list with the following 4 options:

      FROM SPAINISH NATIONAL TEAM
      MF……Santi Cazorla……………….age 34)…….Spain Villarreal
      FW…..Iago Aspas………………….age 32………Spain Celta Vigo
      FROM ITALIAN NATIONAL TEAM
      FW…..Sebastian Giovinco……………age 32….. Saudi Arabia Al-Hilal
      FROM BRAZIL NATIONAL TEAM
      MF….Fernandinho…………………….…age 34…England Manchester City

      How many of these players actually would be interested in playing in MLS and especially for DC United once Rooney & Acosta leave? I can’t see Giovinco back in MLS after his treatment by the Toronto front office.
      Face it DC is going to be rebuilding their attack and will have to sell someone that they are building around them. They need a recognizable name to hopefully get other pieces interested in joining. Otherwise they’re going to be limited to what they can pick up from the drafts or their home grown players.

      Reply
      • “1st – No-One in their right mind would use a DP slot for a Keeper.”…..yet Colorado got Tim Howard ?

        “2nd – I can only recall one DP defender, and he’ll probably go down as one of the biggest busts in Red Bull’s history, if not MLS’s”
        ……so your logic is because ONE DF was a bust ALL DF WILL BE A BUST…hahahaha ?, wow

        “How many of these players actually would be interested in playing in MLS and especially for DC United once Rooney & Acosta leave?”
        ……hmmm, let me get this straight…….so according to you, most on that list will not be interested in playing in MLS but a player like Ozil, still at the top of his game and still wanted by many top team in the world would??? ?

        “Face it DC is going to be rebuilding their attack and will have to sell someone that they are building around them. They need a recognizable name to hopefully get other pieces interested in joining”
        ……. I don’t even know what you mean by that but those players on that list are world renown players, respected AROUND THE WORLD and are a symbol for their respective national teams. BUILDING A TEAM with a few of them on the roster is nothing more than logical in will attract other top player to take a look at MLS…..which will only raise the level of the team and MLS as a whole

        Sorry but your logic makes absolutely no sense

    • There is a big difference between 30- and 34 on the soccer pitch, especially if you are looking for attacking options. Zlatan is one notable exception, but few attackers are very good into their mid 30’s. Almost all of the players on your list are too old to be worth what would be paid. Fact is, Rooney was really only good for one year. I was hoping to see more of MLS get away from the aging star and do what Atlanta is doing anyway. Ozul is still a top player who probably had 3 good years left.

      Reply
      • “few attackers are very good into their mid 30’s”……Hmmmm lets look at MLS best of the best
        MLS ALLSTARS
        Goalkeepers: Brad Guzan 34 (Atlanta United), Nick Rimando 40 (Real Salt Lake)
        Defenders: Bastian Schweinsteiger 35 (Chicago Fire), Graham Zusi 32(Sporting Kansas City)
        Midfielders: Diego Chara 33 (Portland Timbers), Nicolás Lodeiro 30 (Seattle Sounders FC), Maxi Moralez 32 (NYCFC), Nani 32 (Orlando City SC), Diego Rossi* (Los Angeles Football Club),
        Forwards: Zlatan Ibrahimović 37 (LA Galaxy), Wayne Rooney 33 (D.C. United), Chris Wondolowski 36 (San Jose Earthquakes) Carlos Vela 30 (Los Angeles Football Club)
        Others
        David Villa 36 (while in MLS)
        Maximiliano Moralez 32
        Michael Bradley 32
        Kei Kamara 34
        Nicolas Gaitan 31
        Kyle Beckerman 37
        Diego Valeri 33
        DaMarcus Beasley 37
        Alejandro Bedoya 32
        Omar Gonzalez 30

        Yet no player above COULD MAKE THE BRAZIL OR ITALIAN OR SPAINISH NATIONAL TEAM……food for thought

        “There is a big difference between 30- and 34 on the soccer pitch, especially if you are looking for attacking options”….LOL, I beg to differ. Maybe in EPL La Liga or Bundesliga but MLS is not that league yet, especially since these players are still STARTING

        “Fact is, Rooney was really only good for one year”….hahahaha, when it looks like he is not having a good season he is still the 5th highest goal scorer this season…..lol yup, AT 33!!!!!

    • I think you’re grasping at straws trying to use the MLS All-Star roster as justification. The All-Star game is more of a popularity contest than anything having to do with the quality of the players themselves. You’ve listed Omar, Rimando, Beasley, Guzan, Beckerman, Zusi, Bedoya & Wondo…all former USMNT players who have been passed up by MLS players on the USMNT roster. Do you honestly think Rimando & Guzan are better keepers than Johnson? Is Zusi & Bedoya better than Arriola & Lewis? Is Omar better than Long or Zimmerman? Is Beckerman a better CDM than Trapp? If they were do you actually think they wouldn’t still be starting over their younger counterparts?

      Honestly who on that list of All-Stars (excluding Vela & Lodairo) would you want occupying a DP role for your club. I can except Ibra & Rooney (even though I don’t like them as players) as they are fairly productive. If I were building a team I wouldn’t want to build around any of these players.

      Villa was a major exception from the norm when it comes to Older DPs….he broke the mold. Historically those who’ve joined MLS after 33 yrs old, have been fairly unremarkable. They treated the league as a payed retirement. Can’t really blame them since the owners were willing to dish out money for the name recognition more so than their on field ability.

      As for Howard being brought in as a DP for Colorado. How has that worked out? Have the Rapids challenged for the supporter shield or an MLS Title since he arrived? He was brought in as a swan-song for his years of service to the USMNT and to sell jersey’s. A foreign GK would’t provide the same type of recognition among fans, and therefore wouldn’t be the same type of draw.

      I’m not saying that all DF DP’s would be a bust. What I am saying is that if a club is going to put a player on a DP contract that player has to impact the game significantly in order to have a return on investment. Defenders do not have the same opportunity to influence the game as attacking players. An attacker can have a moment of brilliance which will have fans talking about it for weeks….Defenders are only really remembered for their mistakes. Additionally you can find good defenders at a reasonable price (Long, Zimmerman, Marshall, Hedges, etc….) without braking the bank. You cannot find a Vela or Villa type player without splashing the cash. Only way I see a team spending DP money on a defender again would be for a former USMNT player….Cameron, Fabian, or Brooks in the future. Someone with US name recognition….and even then it would be a short term contract (1-2 years) at the low end of the DP Scale.

      Reply
  2. 5-6 goals past couple years. Rooney was never below 8 goals in a season and had rebounded back to about a dozen goals a season for Everton, not quite like for like and they will be shelling out a lot of money.

    Reply

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