MLS Transfer Possibilities: Tim Ream's Best Move Is to Avoid the Premier League

Tim Ream has been one of the top emerging American internationals to play in Major League Soccer over the past two years.

During those two years, Ream has continued to star for the Red Bulls. Ream was shortlisted as one of three potential rookie of the year candidates in 2010 and has played in 58 MLS matches in his two seasons.

Ream has also been called up to the United States national team, participating in several friendlies and in the 2011 Gold Cup, where he registered two starts.

Now Ream did have a disappointing 2011 campaign due in large part to multiple slip-ups in certain situations that cost both the national team and the Red Bulls in some major situations. But that has not stopped Ream from training with both West Bromwich Albion and Bolton this winter.

In recent days, it has been rumored that Ream was going to leave for Bolton, with the Premier League side supposedly offering £3million for Ream to replace a potentially departing Gary Cahill.

If this rumor were to be true, Ream would join fellow American international Stuart Holden at Bolton.

But this isn't the only time that Ream has been linked to a major foreign side over the past several months. Ream was also linked to Arsenal, where several club representatives watched Ream in the MLS playoffs.

However, for a player such as Tim Ream, his best option is to just stay put with the Red Bulls for at least another season.

Red Bulls sporting director Erik Solér has already come out in support for Ream staying with New York, and there are plenty of reasons why his decision is right.

Ream is a player that is continuing to develop. Even at the age of 24, Ream is still not playing at his best and he needs to get another year of progress before he goes overseas.

Throughout last season, Ream made way too many mistakes for a player of his caliber. He made bad passes, a poor job covering set pieces and was out of position on other important plays.

Ream still needs to learn from mistakes such as these. If Ream were going to play in Europe, he would get burned continuously and would find himself as a bench player, not a starter.

For the United States national team, this means that Ream will become a player that will not get a chance to become the full-time starter that he is destined to become. Right now, the likes of Carlos Bocanegra and Oguchi Onyewu on the national team are aging, and Ream will be the player that will replace them.

The defense for the national team is the part of the team that is going to need the most attention over the next several years, and hurting the development of a potential starter could be devastating.

Just look at what happened to Eddie Johnson. Johnson was a rising star and a future starter for the Yanks just five years ago. His move to Fulham was premature, he never was able to become a full-time starter with the club and now is without a club at the age of 27.

The striking core from the national team is only starting to look better now with a revitalized Jozy Altidore and Juan Agudelo on top.

For Ream's own sake, it is best for him to stay at the Red Bulls and not yet move to Europe. If not, he will face the repercussions of his acts for many years to come.

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