DeAndre Yedlin Drawing Heavy Interest from European Clubs, Roma Deal Reportedly Close

DeAndre Yedlin’s cameos off the bench for the United States National Team at the 2014 World Cup appears to have paid immediate dividends for the Seattle Sounders’ right back. Numerous reports Sunday morning link Yedlin to a move to Roma in the summer of 2015. Both the Gazzetta dello Sport and the website No Short Corners write Yedlin will join the Italian club, but remain on-loan with the Sounders through the end of the current MLS season and start of the next. As of yet nothing has been officially confirmed by either party involved. (For what it’s worth, Yedlin’s agent issued this ominous tweet on Saturday morning.)

English giants Liverpool have also been linked to Yedlin, along with Genoa, also of Serie A. One way or another, all the rumors and “reports” indicate Yedlin is an in-demand player following his performances vs. Portugal and Belgium.

The move from Seattle to Roma, should it come to fruition, is a definite step up in terms of prestige for Yedlin. Allowing him to spend another year getting regular minutes with Seattle in MLS makes sense, rather than moving to Italy and fighting for minutes off the bench or being loaned out to an unfamiliar club elsewhere in Serie A which could stall his development. Roma’s incumbent right back is 32-year-old Brazil international Maicon. The style of play and pace of Serie A don’t exactly suit a speed-burner like Yedlin, however it would improve his first-touch and control, along with defensive marking.

Roma is owned by American James Pallotta and formerly had Michael Bradley on its roster before the American midfielder made a surprise move to Toronto FC in the winter. That said, if the reports today are to be believed it still could be quite some time before we see Yedlin wearing the club’s famous maroon jersey in a competitive match. One big positive here is Roma is building toward the future, including plans for a brand new stadium to open in 2016. Roma is also in the Champions League for the upcoming season. (There are also reports swirling Sunday that Roma will sign former Chelsea left back Ashley Cole.)

However this pans out, the 20-year-old Yedlin is on the fast track up the club soccer ladder and not long for MLS, apparently. At the start of January, Yedlin was barely on the National Team radar and now he looks to have made a significant improvement on his $92,000 per year salary.

We’ll have to wait-and-see if any other U.S. players make significant post-World Cup moves. 19-year-old Julian Green, on the books at Bayern Munich, impressed in his cameo role vs. Belgium and could be in line for a move (possibly a loan) for increased playing time given the depth of the Bavarians roster at the moment. Mix Diskerud didn’t feature in Brazil during the World Cup and plays at Rosenborg, traditionally the top club in Norway, it wouldn’t be a shock if he makes a step up to a bigger European league sooner rather than later.