Jordan Morris 'definitely' planning to play for Sounders

Jordan Morris may have turned down the Seattle Sounders' offer of a Homegrown Player contract, but that shouldn't be seen as a snub of his hometown team. And that's coming from Morris himself.

"Right now, I really want to go play for Seattle," Morris told the Stanford Daily in a story that explains his decision to return to school for his junior season. "It's a very comfortable place for me. If the offer is there after a couple of years [to go to Europe], then going there could potentially be an option. But right now, I am definitely going to Seattle."

That should come as a bit of a relief to anyone still worried that Morris would spurn MLS and go directly to Europe. It has been widely rumored that United States manager Jurgen Klinsmann has been pushing young players like Morris to do just that. But Morris insisted that Klinsmann was supportive of his decision to return to school, even if that isn't the best thing for the U.S. national team. Morris became the first college player to earn a USMNT cap since current Sounders assistant coach Ante Razov did it in 1995.

"It's been a dream of mine to play for the National Team, and if staying would jeopardize that, I might have had to make a different decision," Morris said. "But from talks with them it seems that [Klinsmann] is comfortable with me staying and growing here."