Goooooch! ... spells 'Oguchi Onyewu'

Onyewu reportedly bound for Fenerbahce

By Jamie Dunn, Special to SI.com, Goal.com

Premier League target Oguchi Onyewu is believed to be on the verge of joining Turkish club Fenerbahce after talks with all interested English parties broke down.

The United States international was said to be in talks with Birmingham City over a proposed transfer, while Wolverhampton Wanderers and Fulham were also keen on securing his services.

However, Sky Sports is now reporting that a three-year deal with Fenerbahce has been agreed.

Whether he moves to Turkey or not, Onyewu will leave Belgian club Standard Liege on a free transfer after his contract expires this summer and he rejects new terms.

The defender has played in England before, during a brief loan spell with Newcastle United in 2007.

Onyewu is currently on international duty with the United States in the Confederations Cup.

The stopper played in the 3-0 victory over Egypt on Sunday which saw the Americans surprisingly advance past the group stages at Italy's expense.

Onyewu-set-to-snub-Prem-switch
Oguchi Onyewu is believed to have agreed to join Fenerbahce, who have beaten off competition from Premier League teams for the USA defender.

The centre-back is currently with his country as they play in the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

His representatives have been locked in talks with Birmingham over the past few weeks, as Blues looked to have held off the likes of Fulham and Wolves to land the 27-year-old.

Onyewu is available on a free transfer as his contract at Standard Liege is due to expire this month.

Whilst Standard have offered him fresh terms, Onyewu has decided to quit Belgium.

He was looking to move to England, but the deal with Birmingham has failed to materialise as expected.

Now it is understood a three-year deal has been agreed with Istanbul giants Fenerbahce.

Meanwhile, reports in France suggest Birmingham could have turned their attentions to Mauro Cetto.

The Argentine defender is currently at Toulouse and it is claimed Blues made an enquiry about the 27-year-old - but were given a short-shrift response from the Ligue 1 side.

 

wow....did not see that coming.

 

If so, he should grow that beard back.

 

I always had an odd fascination w/ Galatasaray because Freidel played there. I think I am in a fan's quandary now.

 

Gooch the next Galactico?
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumo ... -on-onyewu

 

:shock:

 

Gooch signed by AC Milan. Wow, I did not see that coming! Don's going to have a heart attack.

 

Good for him. I hope he can crack the starting 11. It's nice to have a reason to watch more Serie A. Way to go GOOCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Wow! Great news for him and a nice moment for the US game in general. I just hope he gets playing time. The USMNT doesn't need more key players sitting on the bench in Europe.

 

W-O-W!!!!

Has to be the biggest club a Yank has ever signed for, correct?

A.C. Milan, David Beckham, Oguchi Onyewu, Don's gotta new favorite club!! Only a matter of time before he gets A.C.USA up and running.

 

This deal is loaded with portent and signs...

No one has mentioned, yet, the elephant in the room.
- What league has had games played in empty stadia due to overt racism of fans?
- Does Gooch recognize that he will be a target? Did that factor in?

If not, and I sure's hell aint gonna even guess about it, then Gooch should have been questioning his agent/advisor. Especially after the Newcastle debacle.

And let's bring up, again, "The player thinks he's better than he actually is". Which Gooch obviously does think, and he should. Still cracking that starting roster is the aim and should be the aim, but he picked one of the highest profile teams in the world to do it.
Why do I think that would be harder than even on ManUre?

Boy, I hope he does it.. all of it... but I remain a skeptic that he has the temperament for it. And that Milan's motive is all that straightforward.

 

In other words, sooner or later we won't be able to say "Alexi Lalas is the only American ever to play in Serie A" anymore?

 

Good for Gooch! I hope he thrives there.

 

Nevzter stuck a feather in his hat,
and called it macaroni.

 

Ah, well..

Note I addressed the possible FIFA 'politics'. I left open for Don to maybe suggest this might be an attempt by the club to set a different image.

Whatever.. it still creates problems for me in that sitting bench aint gonna do a damn thing for us if the Milan locker room doesnt accept him. Gooch wears his emotions on his sleeve and it worries me that there's a lot of ways he might not be selected to play, never mind the opportunities for technical improvement.

PS: Don, note I quoted your WHOLE post instead of cherry-picking

 

The biggest competition for that title I would think is Tim Howard for ManUre... Even with that, a signing for AC Milan does say good things about American footballers. We just need to hope he plays.