Gooch's cups running over

[Scottish Mag 3]

Oguchi Onyewu may have to turn to a busy summer with the United States if he fails to win a new deal with Newcastle United.

 

The American defender must prove his worth to Glenn Roeder in the remaining seven Premiership fixtures of the season or face a trial by tournament assessment with the States in his country's Copa America and Gold Cup campaigns.

 

The defender will come up against the cream of South America's attackers in Venezuela, with the US participating in the competition as invitees along with their bitter rivals Mexico.

 

The Copa America kicks off at the end of June but the States and Gooch will already be into the full swing of things because they will have played the Gold Cup in the US.

 

It means that Onyewu will either be playing to showcase himself for his future or the 24-year-old will be getting in plenty of match practice to start his first full pre-season with the Magpies.

 

He told the Chronicle: "I have two tournaments coming up in the summer in the Gold Cup and the Copa America.

 

"We are defending champions of the Gold Cup and we start that in June.

 

"Directly after that we have the Copa America which is a great tournament.

 

"There are some great teams like Brazil and Argentina playing in it and it is a renowned tournament.

 

"I aim to perform to a level that gains the respect of these sort of teams."

 

Onyewu's arrival at Newcastle has resulted in him playing six games in a Toon shirt but he was dropped to the bench for Saturday's defeat against Man City.

 

Nevertheless, the on loan Standard Liege player is still becoming accustomed to life on Tyneside and even though there are several teams in Europe monitoring his progress he has underlined the fact that winning a contract at Newcastle is his main priority.

 

And that means he has ruled out the chance to take on David Beckham in Major League Soccer for now.

 

Gooch added: "I'm optimistic about the future.

 

"It's hard to say whether I'd follow David Beckham over and play Major League Soccer - I am happy playing in Europe.

 

"America is my country and I would never rule out the MLS in the future if it arises.

 

"David chose to do that and he is coming into it at a time where he has played at the top level for so long.

 

"I guess he is there for other reasons and those are being to raise the standards of the game in the US rather than him playing at a high standard.

 

"America is a growing League and it has only been there 11 years.

 

"You can't compare it with any of the European Leagues which have been around for up to 100 years or more.

 

"The MLS is a project that is growing and thankfully it is on an upward spiral in terms of player quality, hopefully in 10 years we can look back and say we have made great strides.

 

"Right now though I'm quite happy at Newcastle."

[sweetleftpeg 0]

Talking about other options for the first time I see, obviously not overly confident he'll be offered owt.