Juan Agudelo is officially headed back to the New England Revolution, the club announced Friday morning.
Agudelo all but confirmed the news on Thursday afternoon when he posted on his Twitter account that he'd signed for the 2014 MLS Cup finalists, inking a four-year deal sources told MLSsoccer.com. The 22-year-old returns to the Revs after signing with Stoke City following the conclusion of the 2013 season, a bona-fide contract offer allowing the club to hold on to his MLS rights.
Agudelo, who will begin training with New England next week in Arizona, will be added to the Revolution roster pending a physical and the receipt of his International Transfer Certificate (ITC). Per league and club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Juan is a player that we always knew that we would be interested in welcoming back to the club if the opportunity presented itself, and now it has,” general manager Michael Burns said in a statement. “He is familiar with our club, our coaches, many of his teammates and the system that we play so we are confident that he will be able to fit right in and help us straight away.”
Agudelo re-joins the Revs after a year looking for a permanent home in Europe. He originally left New England after signing with Stoke City of the English Premier League, but failed to obtain a UK work permit and instead spent the first half of 2014 on loan with FC Utrecht in the Netherlands, where he registered three goals and three assists in 14 appearances.
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Agudelo spent the second half of the year looking for a new club after his agreement to join Stoke was cancelled following a second rejection of his work-permit application. Multiple sources on both sides of the Atlantic confirmed to MLSsoccer.com that the free agent then had a second pre-deal to join the Potters this month in place, but the move hinged on an investment-based passport application in Cyprus that took too long to be approved. He also spurned interest from at least 10 clubs across Europe before making his return to New England.
The Colombian-born forward, who has a pair of goals in 18 appearances for the US national team, originally signed for the New York Red Bulls as a Homegrown player in 2010. He was traded to Chivas USA midway through the 2012 season, where he remained until a trade to New England in May 2013. In total, he has registered 18 goals and seven assists across 73 MLS appearances (44 starts).
