The ever-reliable (and ever-connected) Ives Galarcep of ESPN Soccernet and Soccer by Ives has gotten the scoop on the Taylor Twellman situation, and it's pretty much what you would have expected: the über-cheap New England Revolution turned down the transfer deal for marketing reasons. As Revs director of soccer Mike Burns told Galarcep:"We want to show our fans and our team that we want to put the best product on the field -- without Taylor, that lessens our chances of being successful and that was, in part, why the offer wasn't accepted.
"This situation didn't make sense for the Revolution. If it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, perhaps it would be viewed differently."
Translation: We want Clint Dempsey money from a top-flight club, and Preston North End ain't it.
Burns was quick to point out that Twellman signed a four-year, $1.2 million deal a year ago, and the Revs expect MLS' third-leading scorer to honor his contract. They expected the same of Shalrie Joseph, who was twice blocked from moving to Celtic and is in the final year of his $150,000-a-year deal with the Revs. Twellman and Joseph will be 30 by the time their MLS contracts are up, which will lessen their value in Europe.
The message here for other soccer players is obvious: if you think you're good enough to play in Europe, stay the hell away from New England.
Coca-Cola Championship club Preston North End put up a $1.5 million transfer offer last week for New England Revolution striker Taylor Twellman. After the initial deal was rejected, Preston increased the transfer fee to $2.5 million.
