DeAndre Yedlin was absent from Sounders FC training on Friday as the team prepares to face the Houston Dynamo at CenturyLink Field on Sunday. And while the dynamic defender and Sounders FC’s first ever Homegrown player signing was away in Europe to meet with a “big club,” Seattle Owner and General Manager Adrian Hanauer assured that Yedlin would remain with the team through the rest of the 2014 season, and didn’t rule out the possibility of him playing for the Rave Green beyond this season.
“DeAndre is overseas. We’re not going to give out a lot of detail. He’s visiting with a big club in Europe and we’re working towards a potential transaction,” Hanauer said Friday from the club’s Starfire training ground. “We expect DeAndre to be back for our game Sunday and for the rest of the season. Certainly we would announce anything in its entirety if and when it comes to fruition.”
Yedlin, 21, burst into the international spotlight during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil when he played 112 minutes over three matches in a substitute role. He has seven caps with the U.S. National Team after making a strong impression at his first camp in January.
He is in his second season with Sounders FC after signing with his hometown club in January of 2013 as the first player to join the team through the Homegrown Player mechanism. He played in the inaugural class for the Sounders FC Academy in the 2010-2011 season, then two collegiate seasons at Akron before turning pro.
In two seasons with Seattle, he has played 45 matches, registering one goal and two assists while earning MLS All-Star recognition in both seasons.
If a deal is completed, Hanauer plans to keep Yedlin with Sounders FC for the rest of the season without any influence on other moves the team could potentially make down the stretch.
“It would be a deal that was constructed in a way that potentially he would be here until the end of the year. Potentially longer,” Hanauer said. “If we get this over the finish line, it will have no bearing on our moves today. We have been looking and exploring possible transactions through this transfer window and there is still plenty of opportunity with either out of contract players or trades within the league. We’re still trying to strengthen the roster, but the DeAndre situation is completely unrelated.”
Sounders FC leads the Western Conference with a record of 12-6-2. Seattle hosts the Houston Dynamo on Sunday at 7:30 pm PT at CenturyLink Field in a match that is nationally televised on ESPN2.
