JULY 12 – DESIGNATED PLAYER WATCH

JULY 12 – DESIGNATED PLAYER WATCH

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER TRANSFER WINDOW OPENS ON THURSDAY

The MLS transfer window opens this Thursday July 15, and in addition to a certain high profile signing being announced in New York, Seattle’s Blaise Nkufo, DC United’s Branko Boskovic, Chivas USA’s Giancarlo Maldonado and Toronto FC’s Mista will also become official members of their respective teams.

Here is the lowdown on who is coming, who is rumored to follow and (tear) who is just not an option.

RED BULLS SET TO NAME THIERRY HENRY ON THURSDAY

The New York Red Bulls have lined up a press conference to announce their second designated player on Thursday.

Though no names have been mentioned the signing will come as a surprise to no one and is widely considered the worst kept secret in the game.

DESIGNATED PLAYER WATCH

DESIGNATED PLAYER WATCH

With The World Cup winding down, it is only a matter of time before Major League Soccer fans will begin to look forward to their teams’ to target tantalizing talent. So here is an occasional look into the rumors and facts regarding the potential crop of household names coming to a soccer specific stadium near you.

MLS TO BATTLE BIG EUROPEAN CLUBS FOR POSSIBLE DP’S

Thierry Henry’s quick exit from the World Cup with France will have many New York Red Bull fans sharing a secret smile. Henry is expected to ink a two-year designated player contract with Major League Soccer to play Eastern Conference leaders.

Although the deal has been long-rumored to be done, there are still rumblings that the player may end up in the Premier League.

Henry is not the only example of MLS having to fight for potential DP’s.

Reports out of Spain have Real Madrid icon and MLS DP target Raul being wooed by Serie A side Sampadoria and Premier League side Blackburn Rovers. These reports come justdays after Bundesliga side Shalke 04 put in a bid.

Capped 102 times for Spain and a life-long Real Madrid player, the 33-year-old has found himself surplus to requirements with Los Merengues. Schalke are looking for someone to replace Kevin Kuranyi who moved on to Dynamo Moscow.

Juventus Striker David Trezeguet is also being pursued by MLS but now seems to have an offer from Ligue 1 side Bordeaux.

MLS NEWS NOTES AND RUMORS and WEEK 13 PREVIEW

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER RETURNS TO ACTION – MLS WEEK 13 PREVIEW

Most everyone’s eyes will be on the World Cup this weekend, and rightly so, the sheer weight of match-ups over the next four days is incredible.

Having said that, lets take a look at what we have in store for ourselves this weekend and touch on some of the stories we may have missed while over-indulging in the World Cup Garden of Eden.

PPL PARK OPENS IN PHILADELPHIA THIS SUNDAY
The Philadelphia Union fans will agree with Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part, but now the wait is over as Peter Nowak’s boys will christen their new home, PPL Park on Sunday against Seattle Sounders at 5pm ET. The match will be shown on ESPN2 and will see Union attempt to turn around a less than stellar Expansion campaign. Union are dead last in the East having garnered 7 points from 10 matches. Philly fans will be hoping that the League’s newest Soccer Specific gem will provide the inspiration for some points down the stretch.

SACHA KLJESTAN MOVES TO EUROPE
Belgian Champions Anderlicht acquired Chivas USA captain Sacha Kljestan during the World Cup break leaving the Goats, who are in the midst of a five game losing streak, missing some key talent.  Manager Martin Vasquez has brought for Chivas USA midfield standout Paulo Nagamura back into the side with an aim to fill the missing Kljestan’s shoes. Another help for Chivas might come in the form of Venezuelan international
Giancarlo Maldonado who is training with the team.

BLAISE NKUFO IS COMING TO SEATTLE
This deal was done early in the season, but since then we have all had a chance to see Nkufo play for Switzerland in