Major Link Soccer: Edu to Philly official

MLS

The pre-season odds for the 2014 MLS Cup champions are out, and the LA Galaxy are the early favorites to win the league title. The Sounders have the fifth best odds.

Enrique Cardenas of UC Irvine's recent experience with the MLS Combine and the subsequent SuperDraft leads some people, including his college head coach, to believe that smaller, more technical players aren't valued as much in MLS as bigger, more physical players. As a result, Cardenas is now pursuing options in Sweden and Mexico.

Colorado Rapids

Danny Mwanga re-signed with Colorado after having his option declined by the Rapids after the end of the 2013 season. He most likely took a pay cut to stay in Colorado after having a disappointing season last year.

Philadelphia Union

Maurice Edu is officially Philadelphia's newest DP, joining the Union on a one year loan deal with an option to buy. As Philadelphia had to use its top spot in the allocation order despite the fact that he will take a DP slot on the roster, MLS offered the following explanation:

As with most aspects of the business, the league, in consultation with the clubs, reviews the roster rules on an annual basis and reserves the right to modify them prior to each season. The amendment to the assignment mechanism for Designated Players will be reflected in the 2014 roster rules that will be released prior to the start of the season.

Portland Timbers

The Timbers and Mikael Silvestre have mutually agreed to terminate his contract. This almost certainly means that Portland bought out his contract.

Red Bull New York

Toronto FC traded defender Richard Eckersley to New York in exchange for a fourth round pick in 2017.

San Jose Earthquakes

Part of the reason the Earthquakes dealt Steven Beitashour was due to their inability to agree to a new deal with him.

Vancouver Whitecaps

Former Cardiff City assistant coach Martyn Pert has joined Vancouver's coaching staff.

Darren Mattacks accepted blame for his remarks on Jamaican television last November that were critical of the team's handling of him.

US Soccer

Jürgen Klinsmann is satisfied with the USMNT's experience at the São Paulo's training facility that will serve as the team's home during the 2014 World Cup.

Klinsmann added that Jermaine Jones is more likely to move within Europe this week than he is to sign with MLS.

Brek Shea scored a goal for Barnsley (where he is on loan from Stoke) last Friday in a friendly against Republic of Ireland club Dundalk in a 4-1 win.

Fabian Johnson suffered a broken hand last weekend in a Bundesliga match against FC Nürnberg in a 4-0 loss. The injury will most likely keep him out of the Ukraine friendly on March 5.

In the same match, Timothy Chandler put in a performance that may get him called up for the first time in over a year.

Stu Holden is working hard to rehab in time to make a case for being included in the World Cup roster and posted a video of some of his rehab workouts.

NASL

A local West Ham supporters group called Birmingham Hammers has sponsored a friendly between the Atlanta Silverbacks and the UAB men's soccer team in an attempt to drum up support for a pro soccer club in Birmingham.

The new name of the Supporters Cup will be revealed on Monday, February 10.

USL Pro

The move of Orlando City's USL Pro club to Louisville is far from a certainty, with the architect taking the lead on relocation discussions indicating that a decision will be made by the end of the week.

USL PDL

The newest PDL club in the northwest is Eugene's Lane United FC, which is led by former Portland Timbers assistant coach John Galas, who was interviewed by The Columbian yesterday. You may remember that former Sounder Nate Jaqua has acted as club ambassador for Lane United in the past.

NWSL

Takayoshi Ishihara, formerly the head coach of INAC Kobe Leonessa, is joining Sky Blue FC's staff as an assistant coach. In 2013, Ishihara led the club to an unprecedented four trophies (Nadeshikio League, National Cup, League Cup and the mobcast Cup International Women's Club Championship).

Europe

AC Milan

Michael Essien has joined AC Milan after spending over 8 seasons as a Chelsea player.

Arsenal

Puma and Arsenal have agreed to a long-term sponsorship agreement that will make Puma the club's official shirt sponsor kit manufacturer and is the most valuable deal in the history of either Puma or Arsenal.

Barcelona

Having made his 700th appearance for the club, Xavi reiterated his desire to finish his career with Barcelona.

With Sandro Rosell's resignation from his position as president of the club, the lawsuit against him by a member of the club is expected to be dropped.

Borussia Dortmund

After being linked with a move to Schalke, Lewis Holtby may be snatched up by Dortmund for a fee of approximately $8.2 million.

Everton

Everton left back Leighton Baines signed a new long-term deal that will keep him with the club for several years.

Liverpool

If you happen to be a fan of Liverpool living somewhere in the world where it is prohibitively expensive to ship merchandise from the club's official store, you may want to take advantage of LFC's free worldwide delivery promotion that runs through Thursday.

Manchester United

Manchester United reportedly made a significant offer to Everton for Baines before he was re-signed, which isn't too surprising since David Moyes made several bids for his former player last summer.

Moyes missed out on another target yesterday.

Monaco

Despite the severity of his injury, Radamel Falcao hopes he can return in time to participate in the World Cup.

Paris Saint-Germain

That second target that Moyes missed out on was Newcastle United's Yohan Cabaye, who was sold to PSG. Cabaye reportedly asked to leave Newcastle, due to a desire to play in Champions League.

West Ham United

Mounting debts have forced West Ham owners to make another loan to the club.

TV Listings

Premier League	12:00 PM	Liverpool vs. Everton	NBC Sports
La Liga	12:00 PM	Real Madrid vs. Espanyol	beIN Sports USA, beIN Sports en Español
Copa Libertadores	3:00 PM	Oriente Petrolero vs. Nacional	Fox Deportes
Copa Libertadores	5:15 PM	Morelia vs. Santa Fe	Fox Deportes
International Friendly	6:00 PM	Mexico vs. Korea Republic	ESPNEWS, Univision Deportes