The 29-year-old striker is currently training with the club’s Under-23s after being frozen out of the first-team by manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Aston Villa outcast Gabby Agbonlahor could be in line for a January move to MLS, according to both the Birmingham Mail and the Telegraph.
Agbonlahor, whose Villa contract runs until 2018, has endured a turbulent 12 months with his childhood club, having scored just once in 18 total appearances last season and since been told he has no future in B6 after being embroiled in a series of controversial incidents.
The 29-year-old striker was initially dropped from the first-team in early April while the club carried out an internal investigation into his conduct during a mid-season trip to Dubai, before he was put on a personal fitness programme later that month after caretaker manager Eric Black revealed that he was “not at the level to contribute”.
Only a few days later, however, he was suspended by Villa after being pictured out partying on the same night they were relegated from the Premier League, prompting him to resign as club captain amid a fierce backlash from supporters.
The ex-England international was given a brief chance to revive his claret and blue career over the summer following Roberto Di Matteo’s appointment as manager, but he failed to impress his new boss and was soon frozen out of the first-team picture.
The club had been hoping to he would at least leave on loan before last week’s transfer deadline, but the out-of-favour forward ultimately rejected a deadline day switch to Reading, leading owner Tony Xia to tweet: “I was disappointed with this. I said gabby that going somewhere even he unlikes playing convince us a real man.”
Now training exclusively with the Under-23s, Agbonlahor will not reportedly be considered for selection by Di Matteo going forward, yet the club are in no position to offer him a pay-off with nearly £4 million remaining on his current deal.
The Birmingham native is not believed to be interested in joining one of the claret and blues’ Championship rivals either once the winter transfer window opens, but the Birmingham Mail now suggests that he could be convinced to make a move across the pond to MLS instead.
The newspaper’s report claims that one of league’s two expansion sides for 2017, Atlanta United or Minnesota United, is a potential destination for the controversial front man, while the Telegraph also adds that several stateside teams are “considering offering him an escape route”.
It seems unlikely any of those supposed teams would be willing to hand him a Designated Player contract given his recent plight, but there is a chance that Villa agree to subsidise a portion of his wages in order to facilitate a potential deal.
In the meantime, the former academy graduate could play for Villa’s Under-23s in the Premier League 2 over the coming months, but the chances of him featuring for the senior side again look all but over at this point.
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