According to the Daily Record, out-of-contract Motherwell winger Chris Cadden will be moving to the MLS, via Oxford United.
They claim that Ohio outfit Columbus Crew are close to sealing a deal for the wideman, with an immediate loan to Oxford on the cards.
Motherwell are now set to fight the MLS side over a compensation fee, as they’d be entitled to much less if he did move to America.
The report states that the Steelmen feel they are still in line for compensation of around £250,000 for Cadden as they view Crew as a Category Two outfit. The Americans themselves believe they are Category Four, meaning no fee would be needed.
It would be a shame for Motherwell to lose Cadden for nothing
With Cadden having been around the club since he was a kid, it’ll be sad when his move away from the club is eventually confirmed. It will be an even greater shame if he goes for nothing.
They’ll obviously have wanted him to stay, but from a financial point of view, the Well perhaps would have preffered a move closer to home so they weren’t thrown into a compensation battle.
Even for the £250,000 they’ll be getting, it doesn’t represent Cadden’s true worth. He had a frustrating season last term but he’s still worth easily double that on potential alone.
Regardless, it seems like his Crew move is imminent. It’ll be interesting to see if his Oxford loan works out though. It’ll give him a chance to try his hand south of the border before making his big switch stateside.
Cadden has been a great servant for Motherwell. To rack up over 100 games by the age of 22 is no mean feat. They can’t begrudge his choice of wanting a move to the US, but it doesn’t make the potential blow of losing him for nothing any softer.