I’m not going to claim Brek Shea is gone entirely, because until he slides onto the pitch somewhere in England I just won’t believe it. But FC Dallas released this statement last night:
We have received interest from a number of European clubs regarding Brek Shea. Brek is traveling there this evening and as a result, he will not be in attendance at training tomorrow. Currently, there is no deal in place with any club and we have no further details at this time.
Soccer blogs have already sold him to Stoke (again). Soccer By Ives:
Stoke City made an initial $3 million offer for Shea, which FC Dallas countered with a price of more than $4 million. Stoke was initially hesitant to make a deal without seeing Shea train, but that stipulation fell by the wayside as negotiations went on for more than a week. Ultimately, Stoke City was given assurances of Shea’s health (sources tell SBI that Shea is close to being able to play) and now just a physical stands in the way of Shea completing a move that will likely be in the $3.5 million and $4 million range.
It’s a huge turnaround for a transfer that looked dead last week. After negotiations between Stoke and Major League Soccer fell apart, Potters’ manager Tony Pulis said a deal was unlikely to be worked out until summer. Fans were left wondering where things fell apart and why the two sides couldn’t find a middle ground.
Now that all looks like posturing. According to reports, the final price is in the $3.5-$4 million range, and while offseason foot surgery initially had Stoke wanting Shea to complete a trial before a deal was finalized, now the Potters are willing to buy without the test drive.
Again, I won’t believe this until I see him in one of those barbershop quartet kits.
