It’s no surprise that the New England Revolution have been looking to beef up their core group of forwards, but a possible return of Juan Agudelo might catch observers off guard.
According to a report on Monday by Goal.com, the former Revs forward is currently in negotiations with MLS and New England for a deal that would return Agudelo stateside.
If the deal does go through, the 22-year-old Colombian-born, US national team striker would return the club where he enjoyed the most success to date, scoring seven goals for the Revolution in just 14 games during the 2013 season.
That year Agudelo received ample attention from international clubs, ultimately signing with Stoke City of the English Premier League.
Although he had a contract in place with Stoke, his work permit was denied and he was loaned to Dutch club FC Utrecht of the Eredivisie in hopes that would allow him a better shot at a permit.
When that did not work, Stoke City released Agudelo, who has been a free agent since last spring after scoring three times in 14 games with FC Utrecht.
The talented forward continued to receive attention from other European clubs recently, including German sides 1860 Munich and Werder Bremen, which is why a return to MLS might come as a shock to some.
For the Revolution, bringing back Agudelo would shore up a major need for the club.
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After losing Patrick Mullins to NYCFC in the expansion draft, as well as trading reserve forwards Geoffrey Castillion and Dimitri Imbongo, New England was left with only Charlie Davies to lead the attack up top.
“It’s another area that we do want to add at,” Revolution coach Jay Heaps said of the forward position last Friday. “It’s a long year. We lost Patrick Mullins, that’s a tough loss for us. We feel like we can add another player or two there.”
Agudelo’s return would bring the club another young, talented player to the fold, one who is familiar with the coaching style and philosophies of Heaps and his staff.
