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Sporting Kansas City's Matt Besler has been the subject of a large amount of transfer speculation over the past couple of weeks. This is coming off the heels of his solid World Cup performance with the United States and he reportedly has interest with several European clubs including Aston Villa, Sunderland and Fulham.
Yesterday, however, the Kansas City Star's Sam McDowell learned that Besler could stay in Kansas City on a long-term deal.
Matt Besler has expressed a desire to remain with #SportingKC for the long term, a source says. Link coming soon...
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) July 17, 2014
While his agent did not rule out a move overseas still, it seems that the desire to remain at Sporting Kansas City is being reciprocated from Besler's camp to the Sporting front office.
Besler's agent says the contract talks are "in an advanced stage" and could reach a conclusion by the end of the weekend. #SportingKC
— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) July 18, 2014
A deal should not be considered by any means "done" at this point, but these recent developments provide some optimism that a deal will be done.
Now, I would not be surprised if they do not renew his contract until after the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is put into practice. The CBA expires at the end of this season and may change many of the salary requirements. A long-term contract extension might end up in a better deal for Besler after the CBA is signed. He is currently signed through 2015.
