Columbus Crew re-sign Oduro

Columbus Crew head coach Gregg Berhalter has revealed that

re-signing star forward Dominic Oduro was always a top priority for the

club.

The Ghanaian has had an excellent season this year, scoring 13

goals in 34 appearances for the Crew, and as a result of this form he

was rumoured to be entertaining several offers from clubs around the

world.

A top-flight Greek outfit was said to be very interested in

securing his services for next season, but the former Chicago Fire

player has put an end to any speculation on his playing future by taking to Twitter

on Monday.

He said: "With pride and great joy, I am proud to say I will be

back with the crew next season and hopefully more years to come."

This news will be seen as a major coup for Berhalter, who had

identified holding on to the 28-year-old as a top priority when he took

the hot-seat at Columbus Crew Stadium earlier this year.

"[It] was a priority to get him re-signed," the 40-year-old mentor admitted to the

Columbus Dispatch. "I would say that it's mostly a credit to how much Dom wants to

be in Columbus that he stayed."

The former United States international continued: "Dom was a

little bit [of a] different case because he had an exceptional year and

he scored a lot of goals and there were offers for him overseas.

"I think he could have probably gotten more money somewhere else, but he loves

Columbus."

CUBAGEE URIEL(cubageeuu@yahoo.com)