THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK — Wayne Rooney’s younger brother John has signed with Major League Soccer and will be eligible for selection at next week’s draft.
The 20-year-old forward will be at the MLS combine of prospects from Jan. 7-11 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. MLS spokesman Will Kuhns said Tuesday that Rooney has already signed a contract with the league.
Rooney has played for Macclesfield Town in England’s League Two and had trials with Derby County of England’s League Championship in 2009 and MLS’s Seattle Sounders last August.
Wayne Rooney is a star forward with Manchester United.
Curtis Ushedo of Mississauga, Ont., a six-foot-four defender for the University of Alabama-Birmingham, is among the college players who will participate in the combine.
Other non-college players at the combine are midfielder Paolo Cardozo (Uruguay), forward Victor Estupinan (Ecuador), midfielder Marlon Ganchozo (Ecuador) and midfielder Martin Rivas (Argentina).
Expansion Vancouver has the first pick in the draft on Jan. 13 in Baltimore. Portland, another expansion team, selects second followed by D.C. United, Chivas USA, Philadelphia and New England.