Juan Agudelo Photo/Kari Heistad
By Julian Cardillo
Juan Agudelo’s return to the New England Revolution could be made official as early as Thursday, according to ESPN.
Agudelo will sign a deal with MLS and the Revolution that will run through 2018. He will not count as a designated player, though there’s a good chance his contract will be worth more than the $175,000 he received in guaranteed compensation in 2013 (figure from MLS players union).
Agudelo’s return gives the Revolution yet another dimension in the attack. His hold-up play and ball control were among the best in the league before he left the U.S. last year to start a career in Europe. He changed the Revolution’s season when he joined them in May of 2013 via a trade with Chivas USA, transforming the gun-shy attack to one that created chances and found gobs of space.
The biggest benefactor to Agudelo’s hold-up play was Diego Fagundez, who notched career-high 13 goals and seven assists in 2013. Fagundez’ stats dropped off significantly last season without a player like Agudelo to free up space, scoring just five goals with four assists.
Agudelo will compete for starting minutes alongside Fagundez, Teal Bunbury and Charlie Davies. He’ll also serve as a more than capable replacement for Patrick Mullins, the Revolution’s most recent hold-up attacker who was snapped up by New York City FC in the expansion draft.
The route back to the Revolution has been a nomadic one for Agudelo. His MLS contract expired following the 2013 season, at which point he was supposed to join Premier League club Stoke City. But due to immigration issues surrounding his work permit, Agudelo never joined Stoke City. He went on loan to Dutch club FC Utrecht for half a year, then had nowhere to go once an appeal on his work permit to play in England was denied.
He reportedly tried gaining Cypriot citizenship by buying property there, but that didn’t come to fruition, either. He hasn’t suited up since last spring, but has since trained with Wolverhampton and Orlando City SC.
In fact, there was a rumor that the Revolution might trade Agudelo’s rights away to Orlando—or another MLS team—for a higher pick in the draft.
Instead, the Revolution have made their biggest signing of the off-season. They’ve deepened and sophisticated their attack, and have eyes on being a contender for first place in the Eastern Conference in 2015.
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