MLS Preseason: Nguyen checks in with Revs; Anibaba, three draft picks sign
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Feb 12, 2018
Disgruntled attacker Lee Nguyen, who sat out the first two weeks of preseason training after asking to be traded, has come into camp. The back line has been bolstered by the signings of veteran Jalil Anibaba and three rookie draft picks Nicolas Samayoa (FGCU), Brandon Bye (Western Michigan University) and Mark Segbers (University of Wisconsin). They had been on trial and played in exhibition matches during a trip to Florida.
Nguyen, 31, has played at least 30 games in each of his six MLS seasons (2012-17) with the Revs and has scored 51 goals and registered 49 assists in 191 regular-season appearances (185 starts). He signed a contract extension in 2016 that is still in force, and ended his holdout after the team returned from Florida. He earned a base salary of $500,000 in 2017.
The ninth overall pick by Chicago in the 2011 SuperDraft, Anibaba has also played for Seattle, Sporting Kansas City, and Houston, which declined his option in December. He went unclaimed in the Re-Entry Draft. Anibaba, 29, has scored five goals and logged 11 assists in 166 games (153 starts).
LN has paid his dues in MLS--I can understand why he's pushed for a move away. His $500K wage is 1/3 or less than what he could make in the top 5 leagues (if he could drum up interest there). The average Russia wage ($1.3M), English Championship ($700K), Turkey ($620K) are all above his current pay level. But because Nats coaches don't see the need for his skills, he only has 9 caps and thus is limited by his difficulty getting a UK work permit. Kind of a catch 22...