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HOUSTON - Geoff Cameron has officially left the Houston Dynamo. And Rico Clark has returned.
The Major League Soccer team, set to open its CONCACAF Champions League campaign on August 22, announced Wednesday that Cameron had received his work visa to play in the English Premier League. The confirmation completes his transfer to Stoke City 3½ weeks after the EPL club reportedly submitted a $2.7 million offer.
Hours later, Houston announced in a press release that it had officially signed Clark, six days after it said on its website that it had finalized a deal to reacquire him from Eintracht Frankfurt of the German Bundesliga and contracted with the 29-year-old midfielder through the 2014 season.
Cameron, a 27-year-old midfielder-defender who was in his fifth season with the Dynamo, has not played with the Dynamo since July 15 in a 4-0 victory over D.C. United. The club has won four straight since, allowing only one goal, to climb atop MLS' Eastern Conference with the third-best overall record in the league.
"We are sorry to see Geoff go, but this is an excellent deal for all parties involved and one that is very beneficial to the Dynamo moving forward," Dynamo President Chris Canetti said in a press release.
Clark, who played for the United States at the 2010 World Cup, played seven seasons in MLS - the last 3½ with Houston before transferring to Frankfurt. He played the last half year on loan with Stabaek of Norway.
"He's been a great player for us in the past and will be a great player when he returns," coach Dominic Kinnear said in the release. "In my opinion, he's one of the better midfielders in the league and the country"
Houston, which reached the quarterfinals of the inaugural Champions League in 2009 but did not make it past the Group Stage the following season, is set to travel to El Salvador to face CD FAS later this month.
