Paul Arriola to Swansea? Tobin Heath injured & more: Freedom Kicks for 1/25/21

Hey there, maybe this week will be a little slower now?

D.C. United’s Paul Arriola might be headed to Swansea City (WaPo): Even with the remarks from Swans’ CEO, this shouldn’t be a surprise, particularly if MLS doesn’t have an idea on when/if they start 2020. Besides, this would kind of serve as a springboard to either promotion for the Levien/Kaplan-owned Welsh team, or for Arriola to look at other offers. I’d be interested to see (but not surprised) if it happens. In the meantime, Paul also will hang around the United States’ camp for their game against Trinidad and Tobago.

The news trends melancholy for US players in the UK, with this unfortunate tidbit:

Former McDonogh soccer star Michael DeShields is selected in first round by D.C. United in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft (Baltimore Sun): Most of this you already know, but Brandon Quaranta (brother of Santino but also DeShields’ youth coach) is worth a look.

Trinity Rodman, Dennis Rodman’s daughter, is ready to make her own name in pro soccer (ESPN): Headline kind of negates the intent of the piece, but it’s worth a read.

DC United blijkt ook bij Marc Brys te hebben aangeklopt voordat het voor Hernan Losada koos: “Voor mij was het niet de juiste stap” (GVA): Reportedly, Hernan Losada wasn’t DC’s first call in the Belgian League, this Boris Johnson/Sam Allardyce hybrid was, and he passed.

USL targeting spring 2022 start for new women’s pro-am league, per sources (Athletic, $): Loudoun Soccer has boys and girls teams, and their home fields are across the street from Segra Field, so seems like a good thing.

Speaking of Loudoun (United, anyway), this bit of pleasant news:

NBC Plans To Shutter NBC Sports Network By End Of Year (SBD): Keep Peacock at the levels of participation that they’re at now and I’ll be happy.

And hey, HBO Max is teasing all kinds of stuff, the latest being Godzilla vs. King Kong and is that Coach Taylor?