Eddie Johnson, a 23-year old striker for Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards, is close to signing with relegation-threatened Fulham. Johnson left the U.S. national team’s training camp yesterday, which raised speculation that a move might be imminent, reports the Daily Mail. Johnson had previously been linked with Derby.
If Cottagers do sign the American, it would increase their Yank contingent to five players (the others are Brian McBride, Clint Dempsey, Carlos Bocanegra and Kasey Keller), which is half the number of U.S. nationals plying their trade in the Premiership. Johnson has done well in MLS; last season he scored 15 goals in 24 games. He has also scored 11 times in 31 appearances for the national team. Whether this success translates in the Premiership is another question entirely as U.S. defenders are notoriously inefficient. Surely Mohamed Al-Fayed’s money could be spent better elsewhere?