Football
Marc Stein, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Alejandro Bedoya, Nantes negotiating new contract, sources say

U.S. international Alejandro Bedoya is ‎advanced in negotiations for a new contract with French club Nantes, according to sources in the American soccer community.

Sources told ESPN FC that a new deal to keep the attack-minded Bedoya with the Ligue 1 club ‎could be finalized as soon as Thursday.

If new terms can't be reached before Monday, sources said it's likely that Bedoya will play out the final year and a half on his current contract with Nantes, whom he joined in August of 2013.

Sources say Bedoya is ‎attracting interest from clubs in the German Bundesliga and English Premier League, as well as from Major League Soccer officials who would like to bring the 27-year-old to the league for the first time in his career.

However Bedoya, having found success in France at a time that a number of top Americans have been returning to MLS, has been determined to hash out a new deal at Nantes.

Bedoya, who featured in the United States' World Cup run last summer in Brazil, earned a spot among the finalists in balloting for the annual ‎U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year award which ultimately went to Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Bedoya joined fellow national team members Kyle Beckerman, Clint Dempsey, Fabian Johnson and Jermaine Jones ‎as finalists for the honor along with Howard.

‎Instead of moving to MLS out of college, Bedoya immediately went abroad, stopping in Sweden and Scotland in addition to his time in France. He was part of a strong contingent of Americans at the iconic Scottish club Rangers, along with Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu, when financial difficulties in 2012 sent the club into a spiral that ended with them landing in the fourth tier of Scottish soccer.

‎Bedoya scored a memorable goal against Paris Saint Germain in December, and has earned 37 caps for the United States since 2010, scoring two goals for his country.

^ Back to Top ^