MLS transfers: 97-game Prem defender to replicate Clint Dempsey path, with move soon final

Fulham defender Tim Ream will reportedly soon be an MLS player, with a club finalising a deal to take the American back to home soil.

Ream has not played in his native America since 2011. Indeed, the centre-back left New York Red Bulls – where he played 65 times – for Bolton, in a deal worth approximately £2.5million.

He played 126 times for the club, largely in the Championship, before moving to then fellow second-tier side Fulham in 2015.

Ream has been with the Cottagers for nine years, four of those have been in the Premier League.

He has made 97 appearances in the English top flight, and 312 games for Fulham, including 21 appearances last season.

But with just a year left on his deal, it looks like the Cottagers are willing to allow Ream to leave.

It seems he will finally be able to return to his home nation, 13 years after he left.

Indeed, GIVEMESPORT states Charlotte FC are finalising a deal to take the 61-cap USA international back to the MLS.

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Ream deal to be final soon

The report states Ream is travelling to the US to sort the final details of the move.

All parties are said to hope it will be finalised in the coming days.

It is also reported that a deal to send Ream to Charlotte has been close for the majority of the summer.

And with Fulham having just signed centre-back Jorge Cuenca, it seems they are willing to allow 36-year-old Ream to depart.

Ream follows Dempsey path

The Cottagers have had a number of American players in their history, Ream and Antonee Robinson, in the current squad, have followed the lead of perhaps the most famous export from the US, Clint Dempsey.

He played 232 games for Fulham, over two spells, as well as 43 games for Tottenham.

The American superstar played the majority of his club career in England and returned to the US at the back end, playing for Seattle Sounders.

Ream follows a similar path, in only going back to the US at the end of his time in England.

Given he has played consistently for Fulham, featuring in 33 Premier League games two seasons ago, Charlotte seem to be getting a player who is still perfectly capable of playing at the top level.

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