#INSERT type:image caption:U.S. international Alejandro Bedoya has finalized a contract extension with his French club Nantes through the 2018-19 season. END#
U.S. international Alejandro Bedoya has finalized a contract extension with his French club Nantes through the 2018-19 season, sources said Monday.
ESPN FC first reported last week that the attack-minded Bedoya -- at a time many of his U.S. teammates are returning to Major League Soccer -- was in advanced negotiations on a new deal with the Ligue 1 club.
Bedoya was under contract with Nantes through the 2015-16 coming into this campaign, but his continued rise as one of the club's most influential players prompted the sides to hash out a new deal that extends the relationship for a further three seasons.
Sources say Bedoya, who joined Nantes in August 2013, has been attracting interest from clubs in the German Bundesliga and English Premier League, as well as from MLS officials who would like to bring the 27-year-old to his league back home for the first time in his career. But the sides were determined to agree to new terms.
Bedoya, one of the top performers for the United States in its World Cup run last summer in Brazil, earned a spot among the finalists in balloting for the annual U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year award, which ultimately went to Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard. Bedoya joined fellow national team members Kyle Beckerman, Clint Dempsey, Fabian Johnson and Jermaine Jones as finalists for the honor along with Howard.
Instead of moving to MLS out of college, Bedoya immediately went abroad, stopping in Sweden and Scotland in addition to his time in France. He was part of a strong contingent of Americans at the iconic Scottish club Rangers, along with Carlos Bocanegra and Maurice Edu, when financial difficulties in 2012 sent the club into a spiral that ended with them landing in the fourth tier of Scottish soccer.
Bedoya scored a memorable strike against Paris Saint-Germain in December for his lone league goal this season. He's earned 37 caps for the United States since 2010, scoring two goals for his country.