Unattached Trinidad and Tobago international and 2006 World Cup forward Stern John is currently training with Sangre Grande based TT Pro League club DIRECTV North East Stars.
The 34 year old has also been training with the T&T Men’s National Team under head coach Otto Pfister and is said to be pulling himself back to playing condition having recently undergone knee surgery.
When quizzed if John is pursued by the Sangre Grande club, Stars CEO Brent Sancho told www.ttproleague.com, “I won’t say it’s a matter of us pursuing him (John) or him pursing us. Anything is possible in football.
“He is training with us,” continued Sancho, John’s World Cup teammate. “That’s no secret. He is very good friends with Kevin (Jeffrey) and myself.
“He has always supported what we are doing at North East Stars and has been a fan.
“At the moment he is focused on getting himself back to full fitness. Coming off an injury such as a knee injury takes a lot of rehabilitation, but from what I see is that he is getting there.”
John, T&T’s all-time top scorer with 69 goals in 109 caps, has played for a number of high profile clubs that included Coventry City, Birmingham City and Crystal Palace. He also made a name for himself in the MLS with Columbus Crew as one of the League’s most prolific goalscorers winning the MLS Scoring Champion in 1998 and joint topscorer in 1999.
“He is a player that we would be happy to have at North East Stars,” added Sancho. “It would be an honour to have such a player that possesses the talents of Stern and the experience that comes with him. But only the future would tell.”
Last season, described by Sancho as the launching pad for DIRECTV North East Stars, the Sangre Grande club finished sixth in the Digicel Pro League Championship, won the Lucozade Sport Goal Shield and reached the Final of the Toyota Classic and FA Trophy.
And a player of Stern John’s caliber could weigh in favour of Stars’ goal this season.
“Our goal is a defined one this season,” explained Sancho. “We want to finish in the top two. We want to improve on last season, which was really our launching pad. And we would need a good mixture of players with quality and experience.”
Sancho also revealed that the club has interests in a few foreign players which includes a goalkeeper but preferred not to reveal names. However he was open to say that the players have Gold Cup experience.