Report says Kamara, Meram look to depart

Crew SC’s top two scorers from 2017, Ola Kamara and Justin Meram, have asked to be moved, according to a report.

An MLSSoccer.com report Friday indicated that the team’s future — which includes a potential move to Austin, Texas, after the 2018 season — was one reason, but not the only one, for seeking a trade or a transfer.

In August, an ESPN report indicated that Kamara, who is entering the third of a four-year contract, had reached an “impasse” in contract talks. At the time, Kamara and coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter downplayed the report. Berhalter called Kamara “a class act” and Kamara said he was surprised by the wording of the story.

“It’s more in the end of the season you talk about it, not your last nine games in front of a playoff run,” Kamara said. “That’s just the wrong time.”

Reached by phone Friday, Berhalter didn’t tip his hand either way on a likely outcome for Kamara and Meram.

“Both of them play an important role on our team, both are under long-term contracts and if any deal was to be considered, it’d have to

be a significant deal,” Berhalter said. “For us, we’re planning to build a competitive team next year. We’re planning to build a team that can win, and right now they’re part of that team.”

Kamara earned $482,500 in guaranteed compensation last season, according to MLS Players Union data. He scored 34 goals in his first 59 games with Crew SC after being signed ahead of the 2016 season.

His 18 goals in 2017 season placed him fifth among the league’s scoring leaders. More than two dozen forwards earned more than Kamara last season, including 12 who earned more than $1 million in guaranteed compensation.

Meram scored 13 goals — a career high — and added seven assists during the 2017 season. He earned guaranteed compensation of $328,750 last season, according to Players

Union data, but signed a multiyear contract extension in March expected to significantly increase his 2018 salary and pay him an average of $525,000 over the 2017, ’18 and ’19 seasons.

In the immediate aftermath of the Crew’s announcement of a possible relocation after the 2018 season, some players appeared shaken and a few mentioned after the season that the turmoil helped bring the team closer together during a

run to the Eastern Conference finals.

No player, however, was particularly outspoken on the situation in public comments made between the announcement and the end of the Crew’s playoff run.

Kamara’s agent, Oskar Olsen, declined to comment. A representative for Meram did not respond to messages seeking comment.