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Americans Abroad Ticker: Ethan Horvath signs with Nottingham Forest, and more

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Ethan Horvath’s next stop will be in England after signing with English Football League Championship side Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest announced the signing on Tuesday, agreeing to a three-year deal with Horvath. After spending the last four years in the Belgian Pro League with Club Brugge, Horvath will look to fight for the starting job in England.

Horvath spent four-and-a-half seasons at Molde from 2013-17, making 56 combined appearances for the club and winning one Eliteserien title and one Norwegian Cup in 2014. The U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper played under current Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during his time there.

The Colorado native moved to Club Brugge in the January 2017 and made 64 appearances for the club, with 10 of those coming in European Tournaments. Horvath lifted three Belgian Pro League titles during his time at Club Brugge, but saw his playing time drop following the arrival of Simon Mignolet in 2019.

Horvath played the hero for the USMNT in the inaugural Concacaf Nations League Final earlier this June, making a late penalty kick save on Mexico’s Andres Guardado in a 3-2 extra time victory.

Nottingham Forest finished 17th in the Championship last season, conceding the fifth-fewest goals (45) over the 46-match season.

Here’s a closer look at more news on the Americans Abroad front this week:

Thomas Roberts loaned to SK Austria Klagenfurt

FC Dallas has continued to prepare young players for a future in Europe and Thomas Roberts looks to be the next one earning an opportunity.

The MLS club loaned Roberts to SK Austria Klagenfurt in the Austrian Bundesliga for the 2021-22 season, the club announced Tuesday. FC Dallas also extended Roberts’ contract with a club option for the 2023 season.

Roberts, 20, was signed as the 23rd FC Dallas Homegrown player in July 2018. He has made 23 overall appearances for USL affiliate North Texas SC, scoring three goals and recording one assist in over 1,900 minutes played.

Roberts has also appeared in six MLS matches for FC Dallas, making his MLS debut in March 2019. He has joined Bayern Munich on three 10-day training stints since the Elite Player Development Partnership was formed between the clubs in 2018.

Austria Klagenfurt’s schedule gets underway this weekend with a trip to Wiener Neustadt in the first round of the Austrian Cup.

Haji Wright closing in on Antalyaspor transfer

Haji Wright delivered an impressive first season in Denmark with Sonderjyske in 2020-21 and now is reportedly closing in on a move to the Turkish Super Lig.

Antalyaspor has reached a deal with Sonderjyske for Wright’s services, Ajansspor reported Monday. Wright was reportedly on the radar of Italian club Spezia, but Antalyspor looks to have agreed to a deal to sign the American striker.

Wright, 24, scored 13 goals in 37 appearances for Sonderjyske last season, helping the club fight off relegation from the top tier. The former Schalke forward will take the place of Lukas Podolski and Dever Orgill, who were released by Antalyaspor this summer.

Antalyaspor finished in 16th place out of 21 clubs in the Turkish Super Lig, four points clear of the relegation zone. Wright’s move to Turkey would see him join DeAndre Yedlin and Tyler Boyd as American players to feature in the Super Lig this Fall.

Eric Lichaj linked with Sunderland move

Eric Lichaj is reportedly on the radar of several lower league English clubs, but one looks to be separating from the pack to acquire him.

English Football League One side Sunderland reportedly welcomed Lichaj on trial ahead of a possible permanent move to the club, Sunderland Echo reported Monday. Lichaj, 32, is a free agent after mutually ending his contract with Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk in January following a hip injury.

Sunderland missed out on promotion back to the EFL Championship last season, but did see fellow American Lynden Gooch play a star role for the club.

The veteran fullback made the move to the Turkish Super Lig in September 2020 following his release from Hull City. Lichaj made 12 appearances for the club before a hip injury forced an abrupt end to his debut campaign there.

Most of Lichaj’s career has been spent in the EFL Championship, totaling four goals and 12 assists in 257 appearances. Lichaj spent five seasons with Nottingham Forest from 2013-18 and has also appeared for Hull City, Aston Villa, and Leeds United during his time in England.

Lichaj earned 16 caps for the U.S. men’s national team in his career, scoring one goal. The Illinois native helped the USMNT win the 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup, which remains the lone trophy of his club and international career.

Comments

  1. Why does Horvath pick the one team in the Championship below the top 5 with a decent starting keeper, Ligue 1 experience, still under contract, <1 GAA? If you look among the many teams bottom half of the C'ship with 60-70 GA he picks the one team with 45 GA in 46 games, that looks more like it needs offense than a keeper. Ugh. But hopefully the Mexico showing platformed him for the Nats but otherwise it looks to me like Forest released their backup and signed him, with all that implies. Maybe he'll get a chance with time but any other team in that part of the C'ship would have made more sense and probably been a starting gig. Oh well.

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  2. Who would have thought 7 months ago that Thomas Roberts would be playing at a higher level in Austria than Uly Llanez?

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