Americans Abroad

Those are currently the four most important words for a few players who are on the verge of bringing a new wave of American talent to England. U.S. national team midfielder Robbie Rogers and center back Tim Ream appear destined to take their careers from the confines of Major League Soccer to the English stage. Rogers already has agreed to a deal with League Championship side Leeds United, while Ream has been inching ever-so-close to a move from the New York Red Bulls to Bolton. The relegation-threatened club, which also employs on-the-mend American Stuart Holden, just lost starting central defender and English international Gary Cahill to Chelsea in the transfer market and has been on the hunt for Ream for some time. U.S. forward Edson Buddle may also be in the mix for a move to England after his agent, Richard Motzkin, revealed that the player was at Everton on trial this week as he seeks a move from FC Ingolstadt in Germany. Should the trial go well and manager David Moyes feel that Buddle is an answer to the team's scoring woes, the forward would join former Los Angeles Galaxy teammate and on-loan Toffee Landon Donovan at Goodison Park along with American goalkeepers Tim Howard and Marcus Hahnemann. Before all of that can happen, though, there is the matter of obtaining the work permit, a must for non-European Union foreigners who wish to be eligible to compete in the United Kingdom like the three players hope to do.