Derek Riordan urged to take chance of MLS switch seriously

DEREK Riordan has been warned that the offer of a two-and-a-half-year contract from Houston Dynamos could be the best deal he will get this summer.

The out-of-contract Hibernian striker has been holding out for more money from the MSL club, but with no other club close to making a firm bid for his services, the pressure is growing on him to compromise. The Texas team have gone some way towards finding a balance between the 28-year-old's wage demands and their original offer.

They have suggested that, for the first six months, he should be paid what they have offered, and then for the following two years he will get what he has asked for. The only proviso is a break clause in the agreement, which would allow either party to terminate the contract at the end of that initial six-month period. "It's a good offer and a good opportunity," one of the parties involved in negotiations said last night. "There's a gap between what Derek wants and what Houston have offered, but it's bridgeable, and the money is decent anyway."

Riordan may still feel that he is being asked to serve a probationary period, and that a player of his experience should not need to do so. But negotiators on both sides are understood to feel that the six-month break clause is a genuine attempt at finding a compromise, and that it would work in Riordan's favour as well as in the club's, allowing him to bale out early if he and his family fail to settle in the United States.

For a player who has maintained a lot of friendships from his schooldays, and is known to prefer not straying too far from home, such an option could be a reassuring one. The fact that he would be moving to an English-speaking country would also be an advantage, as would the style of play in the MSL, where technically gifted players such as Riordan are usually allowed a reasonable amount of time on the ball.

Riordan may feel that, if he waits patiently, he is sure to receive a better offer, and it is true that throughout his career he has always attracted a lot of interest from scouts. At present, however, while there have been lots of inquiries about him, nothing concrete has emerged from anywhere other than Houston.