Palmer finalises deal with MLS club

BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport Editor

Friday, March 19, 2010

JAMAICA international and Harbour View FC midfielder Lovel Palmer is on his way to US Major League outfit Houston Dynamo after impressing the Texas franchise following two quickfire trial stints recently.

Yesterday, club officials declined to give the transfer fee, but disclosed that the club's skipper will go to the US outfit for an initial one-year period, with the option to extend for an additional three years.

Palmer, the brother of World Championship 100 hurdles champion Brigitte Foster-Hylton, is expected to join his new club as early as next week. The MLS season is due for kick-off on March 27.

When reached yesterday, Palmer was besides himself with joy. "I'm just elated as it's every player's dream to play overseas, and I guess I'm living my dream now," he said.

Palmer said he is confident he will fit into the culture of the club, which he described as "more like a family" than anything else.

"I like the players and the vibe in the changing room... players will come up to me and give me tips on how the coach likes things done," said Palmer.

Meanwhile, general manager of Harbour View, Clyde Jureidini, said the relevant documentation formalising the deal between the clubs have been exchanged, noting that they are awaiting a final response from Houston to officially close the deal.

"Basically, it's completed (deal) as all documents that are required have been sent off," said Jureidini.

"In fact, we had the official sending off of Lovel last night (Wednesday) where he his teammates formed a guard of honour for him as he left the field," he added.

Palmer's success was recognised with a citation from SportMax and a Nike kit from Locker Room Sports, two companies with which the player has worked closely on various marketing projects.

Harbour View, which Palmer joined as a Minor League player back in 1999, also made a special presentation to the athletic midfielder at half-time in their 1-2 defeat against St Georges SC in the Flow Champions Cup All-Island KO at the mini-stadium.

"It's fitting that Lovel goes off at this time as it has been about 10 years since he first joined the club and he has progressed nicely, so we wish him all the best," noted Jureidini.

Palmer's successful transfer follows that of a number of Harbour View players -- most notably, Ricardo 'Bibi' Gardner, who signed with Bolton Wanderers immediately after the 1998 World Cup in France for £1 million.

"This kind of thing continues to enhance the reputation of Harbour View and also gives players the opportunity to further their football careers to the level that we cannot provide at the moment," Jureidini noted.

The trial process for the hard-working midfielder started when he and Tivoli Gardens striker Navion Boyd went for an initial look-in by Houston coach Dominic Kinnear, who was impressed by the duo.

But his eyes were more trained on Palmer, and after returning to Jamaica after a week overseas, Kinnear asked that the player return for another stint to see how well he would function in a new formation.

Palmer -- capped 17 times as a senior Reggae Boy -- scored a 35-metre scorcher in the first stint against FC Dallas in a practice game in a 3-5-2 formation, but was recalled to see how well he would operate in the common 4-4-2 which was employed against the Chicago Fire last Thursday.

He is tipped to fill the defensive midfield spot vacated by the off-season departure of Ricardo Clark to Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.

As an international, Palmer has also played at the Under-17 level. His most recent outing as a senior player was a friendly game against Argentina in Mar Del Plata last month, where Jamaica lost 1-2 in a gutsy display.

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