It's looking more and more likely that Oguchi Onyewu, the U.S. national team defender, will leave Belgian club Standard Liege during the January transfer window, possibly for England or Spain, according to the 24-year old, who spoke with the Soccer Times. Onyewu nearly joined Middlesbrough over the summer; in fact, the central defender actually left training the U.S. training camp just before the World Cup to fly to England to take a physical and talk to club officials. That deal never went through because Middlesbrough at the time was searching for a new manager. It has only recently surfaced that Spanish giant Real Madrid made a late bid for Onyewu just before the transfer deadline closed in August. Because Standard needed more time to mull the offer, that deal never went through. Standard coach Michel Preud'homme said the lateness of Real's bid left the club with no opportunity to find a replacement for the big defender. Newspapers in England report that Middlesbrough has left money in its budget for Onyewu to move to The Riverside. If he decides to go elsewhere, it will use the money to make Jonathan Woodgate's move from Real Madrid permanent. A move to Real Madrid would obviously be more high-profile, but Onyewu could wind up on the bench behind European Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro and young Spain international Sergio Ramos. On Sunday, Onyewu played a big part in Standard's thrilling come-from-behind 4-4 draw against rival FC Bruges. Bruges led 3-0 and then 4-1; Gooch scored Standard's third goal to make it 4-3 in the 84th minute and then set up the equalizer seconds before full-time. Read the original story...