The latest turn in the Charlie Davies saga has the American striker trialing with DC United with the club hoping he can prove healthy enough to justify a loan with an option to buy. On one hand, the situation is sad for a player who a year and a half ago was the United States' next great hope at striker after scoring at Azteca in a World Cup qualifier against Mexico and establishing himself with Ligue 1 club Sochaux. On the other hand, that Davies has the opportunity to reestablish himself in professional soccer at all is remarkable considering the incredibly severe injuries he suffered in an October 2009 car accident.
Charlie Davies May Have Found A Home With DC United If He Remains Healthy
Whichever way one chooses to look at Davies’ situation, the striker has the opportunity to resurrect his career with United, assuming they sign him of course. Davies joined DC last week and has spent a week training with them, even scoring a goal and adding an assist in a preseason match. Next he’s scheduled to have a medical to give the club an idea of where the doctors and trainers think he is at physically.
If United agreed to the loan deal for Davies, he will play the entire 2011 MLS season with DC and count $300,000 against the salary cap. After the 2011 season, DC will have the option to buy Davies from Sochaux for $1.3 million and odds are Davies would stay on roughly the same wages. For United to agree to this deal for Davies they have to be very sure he can produce for them because he is not coming cheap. In addition, to sign the striker United will have to use their top allocation slot so not only is Davies costly monetarily, but he is in terms of ability to acquire the next United States national team player to sign with the league.
Assuming that United decides to bring Davies on board, Davies will find himself in an excellent situation to get his career back on track. When rumors that Sochaux wanted to send Davies out on loan first came up, it was also rumored that Davies wasn’t interested. The problem with being a striker on loan to a smaller club is that it is not uncommon to find yourself devoid of service and opportunities to make an impact. As in-form and healthy as Davies could have been, he could have never gotten the opportunity to shine in Ligue 2 or another smaller league. That won’t be the case with DC.
With DC, Davies could find himself in the attack with Chris Pontius, Santino Quaranta, Andy Najar with Dax McCarty sitting behind them. As horrible as DC was a year ago, looking ahead to 2011, they have the opportunity to be a real threat going forward. With the attacking players DC has, Davies will not struggle to get the ball or be forced to drop into DC's own half to get touches. As far as finding a situation where he will have opportunities, Davies has found it in DC.
Similarly, DC could really use a healthy and productive Davies. It is unclear how healthy Davies is and if he is capable of getting back to where he was prior to the accident, but if he can come close to it then DC have themselves exactly the type of player they need. With the way Pontius, Quaranta and Najar run at opposing defenders, patches of space aren’t too rare and Davies can run into that space. In addition, Pontius, Quaranta and Najar aren’t strikers, or at least not out and out strikers. Getting a striker who is a finisher above all else has been a priority for DC and they spent the entire offseason coming up empty. Davies might be their answer if he can find his pre-accident form or anything close to it.
Looking ahead and to bigger things for Davies, the national team is still hanging around out there, but any speculation as to when he might rejoin the team is entirely too soon. Davies has yet to play a top flight match since his accident. Does he have the speed that made him the strike partner to Jozy Altidore that Bob Bradley loved so much? No one has any clue. Does he have the strength that was often underrated, but always crucial to his success? How about the finishing skill that set him apart from most of the U.S. strikers? There isn't any possible way to answer that yet so stepping all the way forward to talk about the national team is so premature that it is laughable. As of now, Davies doesn't even have a professional team to play for as DC haven't even decided whether or not to take him on yet.
The fact is that any speculation at all may be premature. Davies still has to finish convincing DC that he is fit enough to play and produce. Any speculation about his future at all centers on his ability to get healthy and on form, which is still up in the air. If he can do it though, he has found himself a nearly ideal situation. With DC, Davies will get opportunities and considering his situation, opportunities is all Davies can really ask for.
See More:
