Out-of-contract attacker Juan Agudelo is weighing a hard offer from a Liga MX club and drawing interest from teams in Spain and Turkey, a source told MLSsoccer.com on Thursday.
Agudelo is coming off a relatively quiet season with the New England Revolution. Under first-year head coach Brad Friedel, the soon-to-be 26-year-old recorded just 3 goals and 4 assists in 30 league appearances (13 starts).
The source said the interest in Spain has mostly been from clubs towards the top of the country’s second-division, though one or two lower-end La Liga clubs have inquired about Agudelo. The source said that the Turkish interest is exclusively from top-flight teams.
Though he’s out of contract, Agudelo does not qualify for MLS free agency because he’s not yet hit the minimum age requirement of 28. The Revs are the only MLS club that can currently negotiate with him. If New England make him a bona fide offer and he declines and leaves MLS, the Revs will retain his MLS rights. If New England don’t wish to re-sign him at or above his 2018 salary, listed as $602,500 by the MLS Players Association, he will be eligible for the MLS Re-Entry process.
Agudelo turned pro in 2010 when he signed a Homegrown contract with the New York Red Bulls. He has 43 goals and 20 assists in 187 career MLS appearances and 32 goals and 14 assists in 128 matches across parts of five seasons with the Revs.
He has three goals in 28 career appearances with the US national team, with his last international appearance coming in the Americans’ scoreless draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in January.
