AMSTERDAM – Erstwhile LA Galaxy midfielder Michael Stephens will begin a week-long audition for Stabæk boss Bob Bradley, MLSsoccer.com has learned.
The 24-year-old recently ran out of contract with the Galaxy, who selected him 16th overall in the 2010 SuperDraft. Multiple sources indicated that Stephens had already landed in Oslo, Norway, to get acclimated for the trial.
"He will start training with us tomorrow," Stabæk sport director Inge André Olsen told MLSsoccer.com by phone on Tuesday morning. "We will have the starting point of a week and see what happens."
Bradley, who took the club's reins on Jan. 2, hinted to MLSsoccer.com at the time that he could search for squad reinforcements from familiar terrains like Major League Soccer and Egypt. Stephens appeared in 121 games for the Galaxy across all competitions and notched two goals and five assists in 94 regular-season MLS games, half of them starts.
With the Tippeligaen season not set to kick off until late March, the Norwegian transfer window typically stays open into April, giving the former USMNT head coach plenty of time to dabble in the market. Bradley and promoted Stabæk will leave the blocks of this year's title race with a March 30 visit from Sogndal.
