Bradley Gladbach-bound as Villa deal is scrapped

BERLIN (AFP) - USA midfielder Michael Bradley looks to be heading back to German league side Borussia Moenchengladbach and not Aston Villa, after the Premier League team declined to sign him permanently.

The 23-year-old, who is currently playing for the US at the CONCACAF Gold Cup, went on loan to Villa from Gladbach at the start of the year and it looked as though Bradley would join the Birmingham-based club permanently.

But Bradley, who is expected to start against Mexico in Saturday's Gold Cup final in California, will now need to consider his options after new Villa manager Alex McLeish decided not to take the option to sign him permanently.

"We will need to see what happens in the near future," Gladbach's director of sport Max Eberl told Kicker magazine.

"The current transfer period is long, there may still be some movement."

Bradley is under contract at Gladbach until June 2012, but having narrowly escaped relegation last season, Borussia had planned without him for next season and are desperate not to lose him on a free transfer in a year's time.

"We are trying to reach Michael by telephone," said Eberl.

"If there are no other options for him, he'll train with Gladbach after the Gold Cup and his vacation."