Thursday 9 October 2014 15:45, UK
Sporting Kansas City are hoping to bring Roger Espinoza back to Major League Soccer from Wigan Athletic.
The American outfit saw Espinoza move to England in January 2013, having reached the end of his contract.
He would go on to win the FA Cup during the opening months of his DW Stadium career, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1-0 win over Manchester City, but suffered relegation out of the Premier League days later.
The Honduras international then struggled to hold down a regular role under Owen Coyle and Uwe Rosler in the Sky Bet Championship, and those troubles have continued in 2014/15.
A return to Kansas has been mooted but while his former employers are keen to do business, they have been quick to point out that they are unwilling to pay a fee for a man who will be a free agent again next summer.
Kansas coach Peter Vermes told a press conference on Wednesday: “I’m here to tell you there’s no done deal.
“I’ve talked to Roger since he left, and we’re always talking about an opportunity for him if he ever comes back.
“But we own his rights (have first refusal), and we want him to come back.
“There’s no reason for us to buy him. First off, he went away to that team on a free. Our league is not a model for transfers. It just is not. And we wouldn’t go back out and buy him, especially when he’s not playing on a regular basis there.
“Why would we? It would definitely not be a smart business move, and I like to think that we’re pretty good on that.”
